On Giambattista Valli’s nightstand is a much-read copy of The Pillow Book. Completed in 1002 by Sei Shonagon, a court lady to the Japanese Empress Consort Teishi, it is an intimate diary of a luxurious life. “The way she celebrated the sense of privilege of being a woman feels still so modern; it always inspires me,” he explained. “It’s about the feel of being at ease with your femininity, about an uninhibited, décontracté approach to beauty. It’s an inner confident posture.”
Valli’s clients certainly have confidence in spades. Yet what’s good about his clothes is that they give you a certain confidence even if you’re not a cover girl. He outfits powerful women in politics, finance, and business, whose dress codes wouldn’t be usually associated with his hyperfeminine aesthetic. “They don’t give up their privilege of being women because they’re in power,” he said. “They certainly don’t want to camouflage as men—and they don’t need to.”
What Valli women have in common, regardless of age, is the appreciation of a youthful spirit and guilt-free luxe. Pre-Fall delivered on both, with plenty of options that will keep them all happy. Seductive little dresses came in fresh makeup colors, either short and draped in silk chiffon or crepe de Chine or floral-printed and wispy in point d’esprit or Chantilly lace. A delightful confection in pink lamé had a long twirling sunray-pleated skirt, a small bodice, and poet sleeves; a feminine multilayered silk chiffon number in a saffron hue decorated with rivulets of tiny ruffles looked perfectly party-ready.
Activewear received the Valli treatment: Scuba tracksuits, sweatshirts, and joggers were lusciously embellished with tone-on-tone studs, faux fur intarsia, and crystal appliqués. A bomber jacket was elongated in black nylon that looked like precious silk faille, draped and zippered at the front then cinched at the waist with a velvet bow. In the same vein, a sturdy reversible shearling coat was overlaid in lace and embroidered with tiny floral motifs; it was as sporty as Valli gets.
