Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pierpaolo Piccioli signed up the British textile designer Celia Birtwell, the ex-wife of the late Ossie Clark and the woman behind his floral prints in the 1970s, as well as the Italian Pop Artist Giosetta Fioroni as collaborators this season. With a dozen collections to make a year (13 if you count the one-off couture show they put on here in New York in December), it's a wonder the Valentino designers don't do this kind of recruiting more often—especially when you consider how lovely their Pre-Fall collection turned out.
Birtwell contributed floral prints and embroideries inspired by Sandro Botticelli's La Primavera, and Fioroni designed a heart motif stitched with the phrase "Your eyes are the eyes of a woman in love" that appeared on everything from sweaters to gowns. The peace-and-love vibes were intentional. "We want to believe in a fantastic future," Grazia Chiuri said over the phone from Rome, acknowledging that current circumstances make a positive point of view an imperative. Fashion can't change the world—would that it were that easy—but even a committed nihilist would be hard-pressed to deny the beauty of a series of sheer gowns embroidered with stars, planets, and swirling constellations.
The daywear offerings were expansive in other ways. Camo-print separates are starting to feel a bit tired and they didn't really jibe with the designers' theme. But their cropped jeans and denim flares here looked extra sharp.
