Review of Valentino Spring 2023 Couture Fashion Show
In a rave of fantasy and freedom, Valentino brings Le Club Couture to Paris
By Lizzy Bowring
The event that sets the tone for Paris Haute couture season is indeed Valentino, and last night’s event transported us to a happy new world. It began with palpable exuberance – a model stepped purposefully out of a limousine, across the red carpet, and onto the catwalk. Just strategically placed, her fabulous bow of Valentino Pink. This will be the new cover-up for parts of the anatomy that one might dare to be bare. At the same time,
the white tuxedo jacket flowed free and accessible over a white shirt and black tie, oozing energy and sexiness with every movement. Is this studio 54, just for a moment in time? Think again, Le Couture Club de Valentino!
The S/S 23 Haute Couture collection was unveiled at the Bridge Club on Pont Alexandre III with the ever-impressive Eiffel Tower glowing in the background as if it were a mirror ball, beaconing all to go clubbing. It was a perfect setting for Pierpaol Piccioli to unleash his sorcery, immersing guests into a world where the “incredible becomes material, the imagination becomes the real,” and while stepping into his world, stars and influencers became players in this new club. A star-studded lineup included Anne Hathaway, Sam Smith, Doja Cat, Baz Luhrmann, Kylie Minogue, and Dove Cameron. All else required was Bianca Jagger, and the energy would have been ‘electrifying’.
This immersive experience unveiled an awe-inspiring collection that blurred the lines between two very different worlds, couture and club wear. The show notes revealed that merging the two is the way of the future, to shake off the shackles of the last two years and embrace provocative joy, through dance and couture, and highlighting ” Their shared values: mutual gestures of extravagance, the notion of clothes as tools of transformation, crafting a true self, a dichotomous yet dual vocabulary of display and revelation, permeance through life.”
The contrasts were playfully portrayed, from using voluminous silhouettes to slim and revealing ones or those barely there. The exaggerated couture proportions left no divide. Elegant, playful ruffles gave an overt structure to the body when only little lay underneath. Here, giant bows played into the new cover-up for parts of the anatomy that was once deemed risque if one dared to be bare. To accept to have a woman’s breast on display beneath a stunning polkadot flocked lace bodice appears to be a part of the new norm in Paris; it was beauty walking, and everyone became caught in the energy, the emotional sense of pleasure, and the idea of feeling free to dance as the only way to live.
Sheer tops, tailored trousers, sequins and layers of silk, and shocking cut-outs added to the fantasy while romantic clouds of pink organza topped neon tights below, at one with the heels. A thong with mirrored sequins and black gloves highlighted the-devil-may care attitude even further. Legs and decolletes came exposed in clouds of taffeta. The idea of nothing under a jacket was every bit as tantalizing as a voluminous pink ruffled bib that doubled as a top, contrasting with the yellow of the sequins of the bolero and shorts.
Amidst the sea of black, vibrant colour punctuated the lineup – Valentino pink was used as the pop mostly in accessories. In contrast, the luminous green, champagne, pale pink and vibrant red were the colours of choice, take, for instance, the fur coat with a bright pink bow or the gold high-slit dress with bright pink heels, vibrant but never garish.
Extravagant and tantalizing it was, with the fluid juxtaposition of masculine and feminine, couture and club, elegance and eccentricity. It worked, it was fabulous playful, and deliberate, with design and styling choices that underscored Piccioli’s vision and omnipresent craftsmanship.
Pierpaolo continues to challenge the brand’s classicism by redefining what haute couture should be. This main course was vibrant, bright with color, sexy, and incredibly stunning, although the question remains, just as in other Couture collections, do we need 98 looks in these times? The message would have been equally strong with lessWith its inclusive approach, from the clubbing concept to the couture creations, the reinterpretation is perfect for a new generation.
Club Couture is for individuals who want to celebrate their uniqueness through the joyful art of dressing up. And as this collection was filled with the substance of beauty, it also offered a moment when one can dream, to allow a moment of hedonistic pleasure and a chance to express one’s inner self. Pierpaolo for Valentino has set the tone for a joyful future where we can dance the night away. After all, in the words of Cyndi Lauper, boys and girls just wanna have fun!