“First off, did you see the building?” That’s how Giambattista Valli began the story behind his Spring collection for his youthful, flouncy, and fun-minded second line, Giamba, and with good reason: This time around he had taken his Valli girls through the looking glass and to Palazzo Litta, a Baroque palace in the middle of Milan that dates back to the 17th century and had once been a family home. These days, his girl, the erstwhile scion of the Litta line, wakes up, home from Los Angeles and a little hungover. She strolls through the family pile in sheer baby doll silhouettes and glittery brocade bedroom slippers that match the walls. The music was abruptly mixed, as if operated by an iPhone and an easily bored user. (She’s a little fickle, the Valli girl.) The narrative that unspooled through the finery of the rooms was not without a touch of Alice in Wonderland, the designer added, and not just in the magic mushroom prints.
The models padded through the scene in abbreviated lace and jacquard mini dresses depicting desert scenes and leopard spots, or floor-length tiered frocks with Western fringe and sequin appliqués. Most had graphic designs rendered on their foreheads in silver glitter, like members of a fabulous cult. Girls these days are not afraid of what used to be called “a look,” as Valli well knows—one need gander no further than the current vogue for latex thigh-high footwear amongst his front row for proof—and his brocade and glitter stack-heeled ankle boots will likely prove to be catnip amongst his devoted customers. “This is the first time I’ve wanted to buy, like, every single thing,” one of the models said backstage, though for the rest of us, a jacket patchworked with those same baroque-inspired brocades will do just fine.
