Dream Away

>> Marc Chagall.  His journey from St Petersburg to Paris.  The Birthday.  The Promenade.  The Marriage.  Love.  Valentino’s latest S/S 15 haute couture collection is about as indulgently themed as you can get.  It’s quite a feat to dedicate a collection to something as monumental and universal as LOVE and neither Maria Grazia Chiuri nor Pierpaolo Piccioli shy away from what could potentially be overbearing schmaltz territory.  In a nude satin draped room, they embraced their theme head-on by saturating their silhouettes with craft – hour and hours of it according to the press notes as they listed out dresses that had had up to 3,500 hours of embroidery lavished upon them.  This craftwork is seen in abundance in the Russian-flecked folkloric sequence of “peasant” dresses, smocked blouses and sheepskin gilets.   This was the most substantial part of the show as the red and black embroidery became increasingly dense and the patterns ever more complicated.  It’s seen in the lyrics and words from the likes of Pier Paolo Pasolini and Dante, liberally embroidered all over layered tulle skirts along with floral motifs and references to specific Chagall paintings.  It’s seen in the clouds, rainbows and stars sparkling from what are the modern day equivalent of 21st century dressing-up box frocks.  Wait shouldn’t this feel… dare I say it… a bit cheesy?  So why is it that cynical me is sat here wanting to be trussed up as a cloud of tulle with extra sparkles on top?  

You come away from every Valentino show (and specifically the haute couture ones) wondering how Chiuri and Piccioli get away with it.  It is afterall a vision of beauty that is about as straightforward and traditional as it comes.  No pretence at trying to be “subversive” or “edgy”.  No wayward styling tricks to detract from the clothes at hand.  And an earnestness and honesty about everything so much so they spell it out in words just to hone in their point – “Amor Vincit Omnia” (Love Conquers All) reads the final bustier in this collection.  Maybe that’s why it’s a winning formula, if admittedly a touch repetitive.   Beautiful is beautiful no matter how many times you’ve seen it before.