Giambattista Valli typically favors opulent venues when presenting his collections, like the storied halls of the Grand Palais, for instance. He switched things up completely this season, showing in a raw space in the 17th Arrondissement. With its large industrial windows and unfinished concrete floors, the place recalled an artist’s loft. That milieu played into the bigger picture of his inspiration this season, which started with the passionate love story of Italian painter Mario Schifano and Nancy Ruspoli. “I always build it up around a love story; I love this feeling of butterflies in the stomach,” said Valli as he greeted well-wishers backstage after the show, including Bianca Brandolini d’Adda and Salma Hayek.
His muses for Spring 2018 came from two very different worlds: Ruspoli was Roman royalty; Schifano had humble, working-class beginnings and rose to stardom in the radical postmodern art scene. That opposites-attract energy was palpable in the clothes. Cropped ’70s-style knit vests were layered over crisp striped shirting and flirty ruffled miniskirts, many of which were spliced with black lace that was tucked inside pleats or fluttering at the hem. Valli has toyed with the allure of lingerie dressing before, but this season the effect was more cool than coquette, with pretty little ribbon-trimmed bralettes worn under a floral suit or utilitarian barn jacket, then styled with chunky keepsake necklaces, sensible ballet flats, or furry thong sandals. It was a modern way to give tomboy tendencies a little sex appeal.
As someone who moves in incredibly chic circles, the Roman designer has an innate understanding of high-society dress codes across generations—he counts both Lee Radziwill and Charlotte Casiraghi as fans. That said, he seemed to be freeing up his traditionally soigné sensibilities for a more free-spirited attitude. “Loosening things up and giving the women I know more options to choose from,” was how he put it. The modish, neatly tailored minidresses and slinky gowns of seasons past were replaced with a series of gorgeous, billowy looks that fell to the floor in translucent ruffles. Embroidered with tiny pink roses or a verdant vine-leaf motif, the dresses alluded to the skin without giving the game away entirely. In a season that has seen the #FreeTheNipple movement reach critical mass, it was refreshing to see an example of sheer dressing that could elegantly hold its own in the real world. In fact, you could imagine the soon-to-be-royal Meghan Markle finding her feet in soulful, princess-worthy eveningwear like this.
