If a navy-toned jacquard woven in a pattern of popcorn, chocolate chip cookies, potato chips, jam-filled butter cookies, and a tube of what might be Smarties candy, all strewn as if across the floor of a cinema, doesn’t sound quite like Giamba to you, well, it’s not. “It’s Giambalicious,” said Giambattista Valli, on the phone from Paris where he’s working on his upcoming couture collection. The Pre-Fall offering for this kicky younger-sister line had a Pop sensibility that went beyond junk food, or, as Valli said, “a Pop side with a little patch of punk”—a point underlined by the fact that most looks were shown with a flat black leather high-top that looked a bit like a Dr. Marten. Make no mistake, the designer’s trademark Valli-girl party dresses remain, here in baby doll silhouettes, short pleated chiffon or plissé, ruffled and flirty and occasionally floral or in possession of an embroidered butterfly motif, or mod and coupled with a beaded collar.
And while aspects of this collection edged into ground that’s been—very successfully—tilled by Hedi Slimane’s Saint Laurent, it’s not all fetes and frills for the Giamba girl; it’s also animal-print mohair vests, faux-fur trimmed parkas, and sequin-embellished sweatshirts. “There are no rules; she looks like this in the morning, too,” Valli said, citing influences from various “downtown” scenes including New York’s Chelsea Hotel and ’80s Parisian nightlife. “It’s kinky-chic,” continued Valli, who showed black leather biker caps with most looks, “but with an easygoing attitude. Every piece can be mixed into your wardrobe; I was thinking about the Valli customer with young babies, going to pick them up at school . . . It’s effortless but with style.”
Whether anybody will be making the school run in brocade short shorts is a legit question, but there was a certain laid-back accessibility to boyfriend-fit oversize hoodies and shaggy faux-fur coats that did not necessarily exist in the lacy embroidered frills that came before. Giamba for the people, perhaps, provided that you have great legs, a large budget, and a good sense of humor.
