Valentino is known to strike with bold colors, Valentino red being a hallmark color for the brand. When the world came to a halt in a global pandemic, a society in isolation was reflected in the AW20 Valentino couture collection. Pierpaolo Piccioli, creative director for Valentino, designed a runway overflowing with a sea of white-colored garments. Much like the pandemic, this collection of stunningly decorative white gowns was something of a reset moment, giving way for the future of the Valentino brand and the world.
Many people looked to see what would develop from season to season for Valentino. The show is serving as a transition from the blank slate of an all-white collection. “Valentino Haute Couture Code Temporal. The craft and emotionality of Couture, recoded into vibrant simplicity. For @pppiccioli’s latest Haute Couture show, the timelessness of the handmade is a celebration of the human: a dance between the mind and the body, between objects and individuals,” the brand said on Instagram. There are white foundational garments mixed in with earth tones and a return to very vibrant colors. Pierpaolo delivered an exceptional show that again reflected the state of the world — we haven’t returned to normalcy yet, but we’re taking steps toward achieving that goal of normalcy.
The new collection became a standout among the couture fashion shows. Fashion consumers from all over marveled at the shimmering platform boots, glistening gowns, neon highlighter ensembles thrown in the mix. The show featured models sporting a recurring Valentino beauty trend for the brand: a face full of gold glitter, a signature look from British makeup artist Pat McGrath. The sparkling faces complemented the shining outfits that gagged the internet. Specifically, people have been shipping new Valentino ambassador and pop star Lady Gaga with the very “Chromatica”-esque platform boots. Maison Valentino captioned a post on Instagram saying, “Long silhouettes are brought higher with exaggerated, metallic platform heels for the #ValentinoHauteCouture #CodeTemporal show, presented by @pppiccioli at the Galleria Colonna, Sala Grande in Rome.”
Overall, Pierpaolo produced a top-tier SS21 fashion show that brought wide acclaim back home to the Valentino name and further establishing itself as a powerhouse in the fashion community. Looking forward, we hope that with a vaccine in distribution, Valentino will fully return to its prominent colorful glory in full effect. The world will, however, never be the same after the historical events of the past year and, as with all fashion, the hope is that it will continue to grow and become something different from the past. Even as Valentino returns to more typical designs for the fashion house, this may be a turning point for the house to resume past design ideas while pivoting to different silhouettes or fabrics.