October 7, 2015 |
Wonder where the dynamic design duo of Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pierpaolo Piccioli have spent their summer holidays? I’m guessing it was on safari, judging by their African-tinged Valentino collection, an ode to the continent, its painstaking handicraft, and indeed its idealisation by artists over the years. Was it daft to see a bit of Picasso in their use of tribal imagery, the beading and embroideries and feathering and fringing that evoked Kenya and Nairobi, the Masai and the Yoruba? I don’t think so. I mean, they’re not Picasso obvs: all their models had their eyes and noses in the right places, and no-one was painted a weird colours. Or was naked, like those Demoiselles. But anyway. This was a lovely show. The retailers sat front row leaped up to give it a standing ovation. So we can assume it’ll be selling up a storm next summer.
Photographs courtesy of Valentino
