An Italian designer from Rome, Valli brings to Paris always an over the top flair to couture. As a true girlie-girl, I love all that is ruffle, chiffon, and floral. But, wow. Valli really takes it to a new level. And for me, ruffles don't necessarily make couture.
Perhaps it was being spoiled by the simplicity of Dior's women as flowers and the floral decor surrounding them that the literal version of Valli's flowers was just too.. literal.
And I did not understand the hairnets over the faces. And the butterflies didn't add too much appeal either. I was thinking Silence of the Lambs, not nymph in the woods.
But the colors were radiant, and there were some dresses that brought a breath of fresh air with them. The greens were especially beautiful, and I loved their subtle floral prints. No ruffles, only grace.
The highlights of the show were the accessories. The juxtaposition of the heavy golden metal pieces atop the airy ruffles and frills was unexpected and balancing. Beetles and dragonflies crawling up arms and heavy leaves laying across the chest, this is couture.
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| Christine in Valli couture, Cameron in Jean Paul Gaultier, and me in made-to-measure Haans Nicholas Matt |
1 comment:
Your description of the flower walls at Dior was so textural and dimensional that it gave us immediacy. I swear I could smell them. That experience makes palpable the artificiality of these dresses.
The walls, it seems, were made to embrace, to fall into and slide through the petals. These ruffles are made as armor - to keep the world away. That's why Valli's exoskeletal armbands work so well with them.
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