Giambattista Valli had gestures in mind when he started working on his pre-fall collection.
“Sometimes in fashion we forget about them,” he said. “But a gesture is like an expression of your soul, elegant, vulgar or not, but it's about life.”
And this meant keeping it real. So, instead of taking her clientele on an imaginary faraway trip, she brought them “back to the city,” which in her case means Paris.
Cue a pre-fall collection that took a more urban, stylized direction, compounded by the designer's long-standing appreciation for American artist Robert Longo's charcoal drawings of urbanites on the move.
But her devotees fear not: Stylish clothing designed for moving through a day in a city doesn't mean giving up Valli's romantic and feminine playbook.
Fantastic coats were visibly structured to hug feminine curves, high-waisted five-pocket pants had the ease of jeans, ensembles that referenced sartorial suiting were trimmed to be both flirty and elegant.
It all emerged with what Valli called the “complex, not complicated” Parisian aesthetic, with layered textures, bold shapes and rich details like tapestry motifs, gold buttons and embroidery reminiscent of Chantilly lace.
She leaned into couture craftsmanship with hand-applied elements, including a latticework of sequins overlaid on a fuller dress. Basics like T-shirts and flowy knit dresses were also enlivened with sculptural drapes, while fine gauge knits were embroidered with organza ribbons.
Even the black-and-white palette, novel to him, became festive rather than somber: Colorful underlays peeked out, Lurex added sparkle to tweeds, and panels of faux leather and sequins were inserted into macramé designs.
A sense of simple sophistication continued in the accessories. These included versions of her AirBag bag adorned with the season's motifs, footwear with bows that looked barely made but were artfully executed, and adorable turtle-shaped minaudiere clutches. “The race is won slowly and steadily,” he said. “It's very much the philosophy of my life.”
