Valentino A/W 2015

Models wearing Valentino clothing — (Image credit: Jason Lloyd-Evans)

Scene setting: Designers Pierpaolo Piccioli and Maria Grazia Chiuri tapped relatively unknown Melbourne artist Esther Stewart to design a sprawling carpet that stretched through the myriad salons of the Hôtel Salomon de Rothschild in geometric triangulated patterns, like a giant backgammon board. The vivid grassy green, Prussian blue and Bordeaux tones returned paneled across leather anoraks and felt blazers, as did the angular shapes (slashed into greyscale flannel).

Mood board: The balance of a precise sartorial wardrobe with opulent, directional daywear has become Valentino's menswear forte, a formula they evolved here into finite sections inspired not only by Stewart's paintings, but the sweeping Sixties movements of Futurism and Cubism. It translated in two major ways; both applied as colourblocking across rugged, scuba-zipped outerwear, and in the trim suiting silhouette that closed the show in precious 4-leaf clover jacquards.

Best in show: From afar, the delicate embellishment across a pair of pale jackets (a topcoat and a bomber) was almost Native American, resplendent in linear red and blue embroidery. A navy wool bomber tracked with inlaid planets and star charts was a celestial nod to the women's Pre-Fall collection; a welcome esoteric touch amongst the strict graphic forms.