Everything
During his time at Valentino, Pierpaolo Piccioli has been slowly dismantling the traditional codes of masculine dress. Pinks, decadent embellishments, couture treatments that reflect the draping drama and delicacy of detail in the womenswear line.
For the Valentino Fall Winter 2024 collection, as opposed to introducing codes from the womenswear universe into the mens, the creative director of Italian Maison chose to rebuild from within. Use the master’s tools to not so much dismantle as reassemble and refresh.
The name collection, Le Ciel or “the sky”, speaks to the very specific colour of blue. This blue has become a symbol of gender – the colour of boys, the colour of male identity. The other signifier so often turned to by males as an expression of their gender is the suit. It was the latter, informed by the former through playful detail, that became the basis for Picccioli’s exploration at Valentino of what constitutes masculinity and how it is evolving.
Still present was the fluid grace of the womenswear’s silhouettes were emphasised by Piccioli’s choice of fabrics. The house’s haute couture techniques were applied, melding with the masculine made-to-measure world : linings in chiffon, rounded shapes in the form of hoods and soft coats and fringing.
The structural elements of the suit became playfully malleable. Double lapels on one, a three-piece that was in fact a two piece with the waistcoat also doubling as a form of scarf beneath the jacket. Volume was also added to simple staples: graciously oversized polo shirts with turtlenecks in bold green beneath.
Not entirely a red herring, blue became a poignant punctuation throughout the show. An anchor throughout the show that found its way into a turtleneck tucked under a shirt; a pair of trousers, a coat or a chain-mail like studded shirt.
Piccioli is clearly at the top of his game forging a bridge between the two strands of the Valentino offering. The idea that made to measure was the couture of menswear can be put to rest: couture is the couture of menswear, no need to hide behind gendered codes anymore to enjoy it.
