Valentino at Paris Fashion Week Men’s S/S 2019

Mood board: Roman fashion house Valentino was founded in 1960, and in is 58-year history has accumulated an illustrious haute couture heritage. Pierpaolo Piccioli took the solo creative helm of the house in June 2016, and his menswear collections have erred towards streetwear and sportswear-inspired silhouettes - motifs of non-elitist and navigatable high fashion. Democratic luxury is the top talking point of S/S 2019 menswear, with performance and streetwear dominating the runways (and no doubt the catwalks of Virgil Abloh’s upcoming debut show for Louis Vuitton and Kim Jones’ Dior Homme showcase). For spring, Piccioli was preoccupied with non-elitist silhouettes, where ‘the street encounters Couture’, presenting a collection rich in cagoules and anoraks, pyjamas, denim and bowling shirts. The couture inclination came in the sublime and kaleidoscopic fabrications; a blend of camo, retro foulard prints (which also feature in the brand’s Resort 2019 womenswear collection), floral and animal motif embroideries. Luxurious and laid back, detailed but digestible.
Finishing touches: Details borrowed from the skillset of couture’s petites mains – there were striped bucket hats made from fronds of feathers and plumes frothing from the ankles of trainers. Elsewhere, monkey motif charms dangled as pendants from long chains, and ‘VLTN’ logo wallets hung from lanyards around the neck.
Best in show: A series of silk pyjamas featured bold prints from Valentino’s archive, and offered a softer take on a house signature, alongside the sporty camouflages and tiled logo prints on display. Crochet bucket hats wth 3D floral embroidery, will be a talking point for women too come summer.
Valentino S/S 2019. Photography: Courtesy of Valentino
Valentino S/S 2019. Photography: Courtesy of Valentino
Valentino S/S 2019. Photography: Courtesy of Valentino
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
London based writer Dal Chodha is editor-in-chief of Archivist Addendum — a publishing project that explores the gap between fashion editorial and academe. He writes for various international titles and journals on fashion, art and culture and is a contributing editor at Wallpaper*. Chodha has been working in academic institutions for more than a decade and is Stage 1 Leader of the BA Fashion Communication and Promotion course at Central Saint Martins. In 2020 he published his first book SHOW NOTES, an original hybrid of journalism, poetry and provocation.
-
Aram Gallery spotlights a pioneering material that could be upholstered furniture’s less toxic future
At Aram Gallery for London Design Festival 2025, eight designers experiment with EcoLattice’s 3D-printed foam to showcase the material’s comfort, creativity, and everyday use
-
You can now buy Toyota’s robotised micro-bus, with more autonomy coming soon
The Toyota e-Palette is the urban transport of the future, a multifunctional autonomous vehicle designed to cover several roles in the same day
-
Central Park’s revitalised Delacorte Theater gears up for a new future
Ennead Architects helmed an ambitious renovation process that has given the New York City cultural landmark a vibrant and more accessible future
-
What the Wallpaper* editors are looking forward to at fashion week, from blockbuster debuts to rising stars
The Wallpaper* style team pick their highlights from the upcoming fashion month, a definitive season as the industry’s major players start their latest chapters, beginning in New York tomorrow
-
Wild side: the story behind our September 2025 Style Issue cover shoot
An animalistic mood permeated the A/W 2025 collections, captured by Nicole Maria Winkler and Jason Hughes in our September 2025 Style Issue cover shoot. Here, they tell the story behind the pictures
-
How Bureau Betak transformed the runway show: ‘Our currency is emotion and memory’
Pioneering production company Bureau Betak has masterminded some of the most inspiring runway sets of the last 30 years, dazzling both real-life guests and an ever-growing virtual global audience. Hugo Macdonald meets the people behind the magic
-
‘Never copy the past’: how Nicolas Di Felice is taking Courrèges into the future
At Courrèges, artistic director Nicolas Di Felice is marrying radical thinking, raving and reinterpreted minimalist codes to give the French fashion house a new dynamism. Hannah Tindle heads to Paris to meet the designer
-
Ten boat shoes that put a playful twist on the footwear classic
From Miu Miu’s viral riff on the nautical staple to those that are studded, slip-on, square-toed or two-tone, the Wallpaper* team select the best boat shoes of the season – a style set to be ubiquitous over the coming months
-
Glenn Martens’ thrilling Maison Margiela debut was a balancing act between past, present and future
The Belgian designer made his debut for the house last night with a collection that looked towards medieval decoration for a new expression of opulence
-
Art meets perfume in cross-disciplinary fragrance series Nez 1+1
Talents from film and fragrance come together to create Ansongo, the latest scent resulting from a creative matchmaking project by perfume revue Nez
-
Haute Couture Week A/W 2025: what to expect
Five moments to look out for at Haute Couture Week A/W 2025 in Paris (starting Monday 7 July), from Glenn Martens’ debut for Maison Margiela to Demna’s Balenciaga swansong. Plus, ‘new beginnings’ from JW Anderson