‘It’s always a love story,’ says Giambattista Valli
‘It’s always a love story,’ said Giambattista Valli backstage. He was referring not to his adoring clients flinging their arms around him, thanking him for their beloved wedding gowns, but to the tale he had concocted for his autumn couture collection.
‘I was thinking about Alhambra and those Moorish stripes – it was morning and she just got up and put pieces together,’ said the designer.
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It looked like a man came into this story line, for a male shirt – definitely not a girlish blouse – topped many of the outfits. The models had a twist of scarf in the hair, making them look like ladies from the Dolce Vita era, with their languid chiffon skirts and floral patterns facing off the sharper angles.
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As a spectacle, the show was striking: raffia screens overhead casting lines on the carpet. That was all part of the stripe story that gave a geometric angle to the more fluffy stuff.
The end was pure show business: vast skirts in rich colours creating a balletic effect. As ever, the sculpted metal jewellery from Luigi Scialanga made a fine counterpart to the airy and sometimes transparent fabrics. These ladies are not shy to show a leg – or more – behind the sheer fabrics.
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Vogue International Editor Suzy Menkes is the best-known fashion journalist in the world. After 25 years commenting on fashion for the International Herald Tribune (rebranded recently as The International New York Times), Suzy Menkes now writes exclusively for Vogue online, covering fashion worldwide.