Valentino Couture Fall 2022

The world is changing, and not necessarily for the better, says Valentino's creative director, Pierpaolo Piccioli. Her answer to today's ugliness, to the dangerous loss of human rights, to the rise of reactionary movements, is beauty and creativity.

"Beauty is resilience, not escape, and creativity is the only way to counter dictatorial decisions," Piccioli said.

That may be fine, but the beauty of the gorgeous couture designs he showed off on Friday night was nothing short of dreamy and left many tears in your eyes - literally, including Giancarlo Giammetti and Naomi Campbell, who sat at the bottom of the Spanish Steps with Anne Hathaway, Ariana DeBose, Ashley Park, Kate Hudson, Florence Pugh and Andrew Garfield.

As the sun set behind the Roman monument, 102 models descended the steps — Piccioli's light dresses billowing in the evening breeze — singer Labrinth performed live atop the monument and people gathered around from Piazza Mignanelli, home to Valentino's headquarters, to Via Condotti and as far as the eye can see, clapping and clapping. It made quite a spectacle for even the most jaded fashion insider.

Piccioli, however, insisted before the show that this step was a way to talk about issues close to his heart. The Spanish Steps is not only internationally famous, but in the 80s and 90s it was the setting for a televised multi-brand fashion show called "Woman Under the Stars". Piccioli recalled watching the event several times as a young student, hence his decision to invite 120 fashion and art students to the couture show.

“Nothing has changed but everything has changed,” Piccioli said. "People are what makes the difference, the Valentino Palace is the same, the Spanish Steps is the same, but the brand has changed: it is no longer about embracing a lifestyle, but rather about a community sharing the same values."

So much so that he decided to make a statement that fully aligns with his more inclusive view of fashion, casting 40 black models, as well as models of different ethnicities, ages, and sizes, and men to put on a show.

“There is an opportunity to provide such a significant stage with such massive and diverse representation on an iconic landmark, which formalizes inclusivity,” he said. “The place gives dignity and centrality to what is peripheral and becomes institutional. Beauty comes from harmony. It is not an aesthetic dictatorship, and does not obey predetermined and fixed rules."

This modern approach to tailoring was easily embraced by Valentino's seamstresses, who hailed Piccioli, as is customary with the designer. He recounted how 82-year-old Antonietta reacted when she was told that a boy with long pink hair - a fan of skating and rapping - would wear a ruffled lime chiffon and organza dress to the show: "Let's just make sure to measure her waist so the dress falls on her hips the right way," she said simply, showing neither surprise nor apprehension.

The collection was called 'The Beginning', which Piccioli says might seem counter-intuitive after her 23 years with the brand, "but in couture, it's always a new beginning".< /p>

He admitted it was a "very personal collection" and that he engaged in an imaginary conversation with Valentino Garavani, without necessarily paying homage to the fashion designer, who turned 90 this year (he doesn't did not attend the parade). Nor was there a trace of nostalgia. "I was thinking about the part of me in Valentino and the part of Valentino in me," Piccioli said.

While he doesn't believe in simply and directly referencing Garavani's work, examples include his version of Valentino's first red dress, the Fiesta, which debuted in 1959. Piccioli created a stunning lightly padded taffeta jacket drowned in red roses.

Roses also appeared as an oversized intarsia on a long black wrapper, offering a less romantic and more assertive version of the flower. Three-dimensional roses have been applied to a fiery red cashmere skirt and bra combo.

Lightness and volume were key attributes of the range, which were an ideal combination on the Spanish steps, swaying in the gentle wind of the ponentino and as the models cautiously descended the monument. An azure feather skirt under a mustard-colored crop top seemed weightless, as did a coat made of strips of cashmere and nylon.

Feathers were a recurring ornament, embroidered on a red peacoat, for example, or on a pleated dress in neon green chiffon and organza.

An absolute stunner was a bl...