Pierpaolo Piccioli’s Shot in the Dark
Review of Valentino Fall 2024 Fashion Show
By Mark Wittmer
THE COLLECTION
THE VIBE
THE THEME
What happens when a designer whose biggest strength is his use of color creates a collection completely devoid of color? The answer looks something like Valentino’s Fall 2024 collection. While color has been one of the most characteristic elements of his design practice, creative director Pierpaolo Piccioli opted to play with and subvert this idea by using exclusively black – an experiment that didn’t always work in his favor and created some mixed results in a collection that felt sophisticated but sleepy.
With just a single shade, it was up to the shapes, cuts, textures, and silhouettes to make up for the lack of chromatic expression. The looks that felt most successful on this front were those that played with sheer layering and cut outs to create a layered sense of volume and movement, creating a spirit of opulent drama.
But that spirit was about the only emotional or expressive note the collection was able to hit. Valentino is about luxury, sophistication, classic beauty, and while these characteristics were certainly present, they were also communicated through ideas that we’ve seen endless times before, a familiarity that wasn’t helped by the color scheme.
THE BUZZWORDS
Somber. Sophisticated. Sober. Safe.
THE SHOWSTOPPER
Look #58
With this gorgeously layered dress, the minimal directness of black was used as a canvas for embroidered narratives in a rhythmic motif that beautifully framed the body.
THE DIRECTION
THE WRAP UP
If you’re going to go all-black and you’re not Yohji Yamamoto, you better really have a reason for it. While there were some beautiful and dramatic looks here, there’s nothing about the collection that tells us it needs to be this way and couldn’t have been done any other way. If you did this same collection but with well-chosen bright colors, it would feel like a pretty standard Pierpaolo Piccioli Valentino collection.
