In a moment when larger and louder houses are winning props for dropping collections that rearticulate vintage couture gestures in a freshly contemporary manner, it’s worth noting that this a furrow long ploughed by Giambattista Valli. Look back at the pictures from his couture show last month and then switch your gaze to these shots of next-season Giamba, his licensed ready-to-wear line, and you’ll see there are many points of contamination between the two: the bell sleeves, the black lace, the exclamation marks of black taffeta, the softer eddies of tulle, and the full-skirted, large-volume panels dresses.
One difference here, of course, is that these pieces are factory made rather than atelier crafted, and the fabrics are not nearly as elevated. Another is that this line is pitched at a poorer but very probably cooler audience than those fortunate (yet probably cosseted) enough to buy couture. This leaves Valli and his team free to experiment with a sportswear-etched interpretation of his aesthetic. Matte black velvet track pants and a track jacket that softly glinted via a metallic treatment and featured sleek ruffle detailing were standouts here. As Tiziana Cardini observed in her review of Valli’s Spring couture: “The designer has a knack for a young silhouette.” At Giamba he can exercise that knack without limiting it to young customers with old money.
