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The daffodils may be about to appear, but anyone expecting a cheerful splash of color at Paris Fashion Week would have been sorely disappointed by yesterday’s Valentino show.
The Italian fashion house can usually be trusted to embrace color with exuberance: in 2022, creative director Pierpaolo Piccioli memorably dressed his models in a particular shade of fuchsia for the Valentino Pink PP collection.
However, “vibrant” is certainly not the first word that comes to mind when looking at Valentino’s new fall/winter collection, Le Noir. “Funereal” might be a more apt description.
Piccioli focused on texture, with the most sheer chiffon, the most delicate lace and the brightest sequins as points of interest. Even the models’ lips were painted glossy black.
He gave more interest to the collection by playing with the silhouettes. Are you ready for the eighties power shoulder? Hopefully. There were also balloon sleeves, plunging V necklines and A-line miniskirts.
A model walking down the catwalk at the Valentino show. Designers often opt for black in tough economic times, as its flattering quality is inevitably a voting factor among customers.
The Balenciaga show was also very black, with the brand’s current face, Kim Kardashian (pictured), sitting front row in a tight black dress with what appeared to be the dress’s tag still (deliberately) attached.
Tennis player Maria Sharapova at the Valentino show at Paris Fashion Week. “Vibrant” is certainly not the first word that comes to mind when looking at Valentino’s new fall/winter collection, Le Noir. “Funereal” might be a more appropriate description
Bridgerton star Simone Ashley was also at the Valentino show. The Italian fashion house can usually be relied upon to embrace color with exuberance: in 2022, creative director Pierpaolo Piccioli memorably dressed his models in a particular shade of fuchsia for the Valentino Pink PP collection.
A model walking down the catwalk at the Valentino show. Are you ready for the eighties power shoulder? Hopefully. There were also puff sleeves, plunging V-necklines, and A-line miniskirts.
Fans of Valentino’s sumptuous leather bags had plenty of (black) eye candy to look at, in a variety of sizes ranging from delicate clutches to roomy totes.
Not all of Valentino’s famous guests had received the memo. Model Rosie Huntington-Whiteley wore a gray crop top, gray midi skirt and white stilettos, but tennis star Maria Sharapova stuck to the theme on the catwalk in a long black dress and coat, as did Simone Ashley from Bridgerton.
Designers often opt for black in tough economic times, as its flattering quality inevitably wins customers’ votes.
The Balenciaga show was also very black, with the brand’s current face, Kim Kardashian, sitting front row in a form-fitting black dress with what appeared to be the dress’s tag still (deliberately) attached.
At the Alexander McQueen show on Saturday, creative director Sean McGirr presented his first collection for the house, and much of it was black.
At Comme des Garçons, designer Rei Kawakubo presented a black, sculptural and voluminous collection.
“The collection is about my current state of mind,” he explained in notes attached to the exhibition. “I have anger at everything in the world, especially myself.”
Whether the reason is anger or simply a desire to look slimmer, it looks like we’ll all be going back to black in the fall.