Yahoo News Giambattista Valli Fall 2024 Couture: Flower Power
Giambattista Valli’s ravishing mood board backstage at his fall couture show collaged miniature Mughal paintings, details from Botticelli masterpieces including “Primavera,” gardens in Jaisalmer, a city in Rajasthan’s Thar Desert, flowers galore — and the dresses all that inspired, one hooded red gown with a swooping décolleté resembling a garland of blooms, if you blurred your eyes a little.
“Here you see everything that’s in my head,” the designer said, describing his collection as a “conversation about imaginary women in these imaginary and paradisiacal gardens.”
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The rich and layered source material yielded a frothy and romantic collection, and a transporting show complete with live sitar and bansuri players, and fantastical styling details: flower petals scattered over the models’ cheeks and limbs, and some faces shrouded in chiffon; others tinted blue, a color with divine meaning in the Hindu faith.
Valli opened his couture show last January, and the bridal one he did last April as guest designer at Barcelona Bridal Fashion Week, with a tulle bodysuit embellished with fabric flowers around the bust. He riffed on that racy silhouette again, adding chiffon trains, and occasionally sleeves. (The next morning, Chanel would open its couture show with a white bodysuit sheltered under a big opera cape.)
Valli cycled through some of his familiar high-low bustier dresses, draped minidresses and flaring ’50s ballgowns, and he also achieved soft, rounded volumes with silk chiffon.
But the vivid spice and floral shades stole most of the headlines, from saffron, paprika and curry yellow through to periwinkle blues and various pinks, including bougainvillea, a shade also scattered across a surprising number of spring men’s collections, from Giorgio Armani to Comme des Garçons Homme Plus.
Valli girls like Bianca Brandolini and Léna Mahfouf trained their smartphones on the more body-con styles, including a pink, one-shouldered stunner, and a draped dress in ruby red chiffon with fluffy carnation embroideries that showed a lot of leg.
Kudos to Valli for upholding the dreaminess of fashion, and stoking fantasy with his abundant florals and daring colors.
For more couture fall 2024 reviews, click here.
Launch Gallery: Giambattista Valli Fall 2024 Couture
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