“She’s a real girl, with lots of personality and an eclectic attitude,” said Giambattista Valli of his Giamba Resort collection. The girl in question has a penchant for luxe and bohemia and for romantic dresses worn with cultivated nonchalance. “She tells her own story; she’s unique and has a free, open mind,” he remarked. “There’s a London spirit in this collection, the visual clash of cultures, flea markets, and layers of cultural diversities, a bit Ladbroke Grove, a sporty-artsy attitude.”
Valli knows his posse of beautiful girls very well; they’re a breed of young jetsetters: confident, free-spirited, and well traveled. They’d definitely look gorgeous in an ankle-grazing marigold slip dress printed with tiny cats and grasshoppers, its bodice ruched like a blooming flower, and they’d adore a trapeze-cut elongated tunic in floral macramé lace with bell sleeves, or a white broderie anglaise empire-waisted number with a touch of ’70s gypsy flair.
Valli’s unerring eye for feminine glamour isn’t normally associated with a sporty attitude; yet here he gave himself a challenge at infusing a dynamic vibe into his elegant designs. He came up with his own version of activewear, which was upscale while retaining a spontaneous, offbeat feel: lightweight nylon bombers of generous proportions in vivid block colors came with lace intarsia or were ruched and printed with a tiny hearts motif. Worn over embroidered silk pants, lace shorts, or printed leggings tucked into glitzy knee-high, high-heeled boots, they looked pretty great.
The Giamba line has a fresh, young sensibility; yet this collection was built as a wardrobe, with lots of separate pieces to mix and match that could make it appeal to a wider audience. “My philosophy is ageless, effortless, timeless,” Valli said. “Age is a state of mind; youthfulness is a mental posture, it’s in the attitude. As the great French actress Jeanne Moreau used to say: L’Age n’a pas d’age (Age is ageless).”
