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Spring 2012 closed couture week in Paris, and the show notes summed it up in four words: intimate, shy, evanescent and virginal. The designers had been reading about the Enlightenment and Rousseau’s call to return to nature, but the picture that really fits is Marie Antoinette playing at country life on her little farm at Versailles.
Small sprigged flowers and eighteenth-century prints covered almost everything, in ivory, silver, powder blue and rosy pink. Taffeta was treated to look like old, softly blurred chiné, swirls of bouillonné added texture, and some dresses were built from up to five layers of lace and organza while still looking like air. Up close the stitching was practically invisible.
What keeps it from turning into a costume drama is a practical streak. Cotton sat alongside the lace, skirts had proper pockets, smocking added a rustic touch and the models wore flat shoes. The shapes are prim, with long sleeves, high necks and lace gloves, yet the clothes feel easy.
The reviews were kind. One called it posh prairie dressing, old-fashioned in print and cut yet somehow still modern. Others said it was the Valentino people knew and loved best, and proof that the pair had won the fashion crowd over to their new image for the house.
Delicate, sweet and very refined, this is Chiuri and Piccioli’s Valentino at its most innocent.
More Valentino: see every Valentino couture collection we have reviewed and Valentino Garavani: The Complete Guide.
Previous collection: Valentino Fall 2011 Couture · Next collection: Valentino Fall 2012 Couture
Pictures courtesy of Vogue Runway
We do not own the rights to any of these images and they have been used in good faith. Every effort has been made to ensure that all images are used with proper credits. If you are the rightful owner of any image used on our site and wish to have it removed, please contact us at ayerhsmagazine@gmail.com and we will promptly remove it. We are a non-commercial, passion-driven, independent fashion blog and do not intend to infringe any copyright. Thank you for your understanding.
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