Valentino A/W 2014

Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox
Thank you for signing up to Wallpaper. You will receive a verification email shortly.
There was a problem. Please refresh the page and try again.
The Valentino show designed by Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pierpaolo Piccioli possessed such inordinate beauty that even Mr Valentino himself sprang from his front seat and lauded the designers, who have taken his mantel, with an emotional standing ovation. This was an exceptional show for two designers who have been on a roll over the last few seasons. Today, however, many of their past themes began to coalesce - from lace and long-sleeve dresses to exceptional embroideries and patterned brocades - exploring each with a deeper and more powerful effect. They began their show with a modern graphic punch, using Pop-like rows of circles and half circles over the fronts of short, long-sleeved dresses and sharp capes. The bumpy coloured patterns were printed onto leather, worked into knits and even knotted into the models' hair, which featured extra long ponytails as bulbous as pea pods. Lace has become a Valentino signature and here the duo worked it in ever more elaborate techniques, burying it with butterfly appliqués, floral embroideries and magnificent intarsias that created illustration-like canvases on the clothes. The lines were rigorously elegant and modestly feminine, as usual. Newly charged with a healthy flash of legs were their new micro mini-lengths on signature long-sleeved cut dresses in the first half of the show. But the duo finished off with a never-ending parade of full-length sheer tulle embroidered fantasy gowns, one more fragile in beauty and precious handiwork than the next. The Valentino torch is alive and well and that is something we can all give a standing ovation for.
Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox
JJ Martin
-
Ronan Bouroullec book merges art, design and everyday life
‘Ronan Bouroullec: Day After Day’, from Phaidon, is a visual inventory of the French designer’s work, artistic output and daily inspiration
By Rosa Bertoli Published
-
Inside the gleaming new Comme des Garçons store in Paris
Comme des Garçons reveals a four-storey new retail space in Paris, housing lines previously only available in Japan, as well as exclusive reissues of Rei Kawakubo’s collectible furniture
By Jack Moss Published
-
Eva Jospin and Ruinart put the fizz in Frieze London 2023
Champagne house Ruinart brings artist Eva Jospin’s vision of its terroir to Frieze London 2023, and celebrates with a limited edition Jeroboam of Ruinart Blanc de Blancs
By Simon Mills 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