Valentino S/S 2020 Paris Fashion Week Men’s
Mood board: The concept of travel and the meandering man are never far from the S/S season – menswear often looks to explore, subvert or explain notions of journeying. A man is always on the move, scaling mountains or running against the wind. It might have much to do with the activewear moment which has dogged fashion for a couple of years now; we are looking for newness in a samey world. At Valentino, Pierpaolo Piccioli often draws on faraway lands for inspiration and, for S/S 2020, the line of the Arabic djellaba robe and the moroccan caftan was key. They evoked a free spirit, with a touch of the handmade. Crochet and embroidery met with suiting, giving conservative clothes a couture consideration.
Team work: Imagined landscapes by English artist Roger Dean were applied liberally through the collection. Dean is known for the otherworldly scenes he created for posters and prog rock album covers in the late 1970s. Eight of his canvases were on show in January this year as part of the 24th L.A. Art Show. Collaboration with artists has become a standard of the luxury fashion market – and, for S/S20, Valentino’s elegance and modern masculinity was reframed by the dramatic, graphic pop of Dean’s sci-fi vision. Three of his works, ‘Yellow City’, ‘Dragon Garden’ and ‘Blind Owl’ were used on shirting and embroidered onto outerwear. Dean’s planets rippled on the surface of a roomy cagoule.
Best in show: Flowing outwear covered smart, lean suits. Floaty silk shirts, cotton blouses, a boxy cavalry coat in tan had mint green inserts. The look was gestural. Super-roomy coats kept their shape. Fringes were applied to the front of classic light denim jackets. Standout was a split leather trench in cornflower blue. Dean’s work was embroidered onto a zip-up jacket, an impossible yet welcoming landscape. The billowing trench and longer length shirts eased into a summer of the senses.
Wallpaper* Newsletter
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.
-
The Macallan Horizon with Bentley Motors is a decadent whisky with a luxurious twist
The Macallan and Bentley Motors release ‘The Macallan Horizon’, a single malt whisky with a 180-degree twisted presentation
By Tianna Williams Published
-
Ruby Dickson’s Kim Kardashian paintings explore celebrity culture in London
Ruby Dickson’s ‘Maybe my fairy-tale has a different ending than I dreamed it would. But that’s OK’ is exhibiting at Nicoletti gallery, London
By Sam Moore Published
-
Mayfair’s Murano offers beautiful design and incisively cooked food
Angela Hartnett’s Murano celebrates 15 years of Italian supremacy in London with a fresh look by Fabled Studio
By Sofia de la Cruz Published
-
Valentino’s new Beijing exhibition explores the role of fashion
‘Re-Signify Part Two’ juxtaposes items from the Valentino archive and the work of contemporary artists such as Cao Fei, Xu Zhen, and Nick Knight
By Mary Cleary Last updated
-
Scene-stealing runway sets from S/S 2022 womenswear shows
From giant roulette wheels to Olympic diving boards and multi-city synchronized extravaganzas – our pick of the best fashion show sets from S/S 2022 womenswear
By Laura Hawkins Last updated
-
Valentino Des Atelier Haute Couture sees fashion and art collide
Seventeen contemporary artists enter a dynamic dialogue around dressing to create Valentino’s A/W 2021 Des Ateliers Haute Couture collection
By Laura Hawkins Last updated
-
Milan Fashion Week A/W 2021: designers riff on romp and relaxation
Milan Fashion Week offered a wardrobe for life after lockdown, by brands including Fendi, Prada, Salvatore Ferragamo, Valentino and Giorgio Armani
By Laura Hawkins Last updated
-
Sweats and sequins: the duality of dressing at Milan Fashion Week S/S 2021
Brands from Dolce & Gabbana to Valentino considered post pandemic dressing, with escapist and pragmatic silhouettes presented with aplomb
By Nick Vinson - Art Direction Last updated
-
A decade of fashion show history in pictures
British photographer Jason Lloyd Evans shares his favourite backstage images, from the runway shows of Dolce & Gabbana, Chanel, Armani, Proenza Schouler, Versace and more
By Jason Lloyd-Evans - Photography Last updated
-
Louis Vuitton A/W 2020 Paris Fashion Week Women's
By Laura Hawkins Last updated
-
Chanel A/W 2020 Paris Fashion Week Women’s
By Laura Hawkins Last updated