Mood board: Voluminous couture shapes, neon hues and flounces of taffeta – Pierpaolo Piccioli’s Valentino signatures are often mimicked again and again during fashion week. But for A/W 2020 the designer stripped back his prismatic colour palette, opening Valentino’s show with a series of all black evening wear and tailored pieces – leather bustier dresses, slouchy suiting with a sparkle of sequin, a sheer plunging gown with tulle ruffles. Pierpaolo was preoccupied with the power of uniform, and the possibility of enhancing character by reducing the fashion silhouette. Leather, houndstooth and suiting shapes were borrowed from a stock menswear wardrobe, seductively offset with flashes of vibrant red – seen in a trenchcoat, a wide collared peacoat and a final high neck sequin gown glittering with paillettes.
Finishing touches: Feminine fluidity came in the naturalistic motifs on accessories. For A/W 2020, Valentino introduced bags festooned with 3D petals. These were contrasted with bovver boots (autumn’s most enduring stompy soled shoe – also see Versace, Prada and Issey Miyake), which accompanied both tailored daytime looks and eveningwear.
Best in show: An oversized double-breasted jacket in soft leather was fantastically fluid, while an opening cashmere coat tied with a narrow leather belt was comfort and luxury combined.
Valentino A/W 2020
Valentino A/W 2020
Valentino A/W 2020
Valentino A/W 2020
Valentino A/W 2020
-
Gardens & Villas offers the unexpected through ‘deconstructed’ desert living in CaliforniaGardens & Villas, a home in Las Quintas, California, brings contemporary luxury to its desert setting through a collaboration between architects Andrew McClure and Christopher McLean
-
Daniel Obasi discusses Lagos’ Amah members’ club, where vocation and wonder can meetAmah, a new members’ club founded by photographer, art director and stylist Daniel Obasi, is a creative co-working space and meeting point for Lagos’ creative class
-
A closer look at Loewe’s delirious, erotically-charged collaboration with artist Richard Hawkins‘Modern life has become a collage,’ said Jonathan Anderson after his A/W 2024 menswear show, which featured Los Angeles-based artist Richard Hawkins’ collages across sweaters and bags
-
Palace unites with Rapha to celebrate inaugural Tour de France FemmesMarking the first time women will compete in the historic cycling race since the late 1980s, this new collaboration sees Palace Skateboards and Rapha create uniforms for both on and off the bike – including an ‘outlandish’ pair of Crocs
-
Valentino’s theatrical new exhibition celebrates the house founder’s 90th birthdayAt Teatro Sociale di Voghera, a new exhibition marks seminal designer Valentino Garavani’s 90th birthday, collating pieces from his time at the helm with ‘Valentino red’ taking centre stage
-
Paris Fashion Week A/W 2022: Chanel to Miu MiuIn this extended report, Wallpaper* updates you live from Paris Fashion Week A/W 2022 shows, with rolling coverage as runway events unfold
-
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
-
Scene-stealing runway sets from S/S 2022 womenswear showsFrom 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
-
Valentino Des Atelier Haute Couture sees fashion and art collideSeventeen contemporary artists enter a dynamic dialogue around dressing to create Valentino’s A/W 2021 Des Ateliers Haute Couture collection
-
Milan Fashion Week A/W 2021: designers riff on romp and relaxationMilan Fashion Week offered a wardrobe for life after lockdown, by brands including Fendi, Prada, Salvatore Ferragamo, Valentino and Giorgio Armani
-
Sweats and sequins: the duality of dressing at Milan Fashion Week S/S 2021Brands from Dolce & Gabbana to Valentino considered post pandemic dressing, with escapist and pragmatic silhouettes presented with aplomb
