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.
