Fashion has been reluctant to drag itself away from its summer vacations, for far too many obvious existential reasons to mention. Giambattista Valli is one of those designers who is constitutionally made to lead his multigenerational customers to beautiful, escapist places, whether fantastical parties, aboard some yacht at Positano, or at any other point on the psycho-geographical map of gorgeous fashion destinations. He’s Roman, spiritually dedicated to creating happiness—one of those alta moda–steeped designers born to make women feel great: just like his compatriot Pierpaolo Piccioli (the talk of Paris after his stellar Valentino collection), who came to support Giamba’s show today.
Valli’s travels were reflected in his Spring collection. At first sight, the long, white tailored dress with patch pockets on the breast appeared to be saharien—or, a caftan, but perhaps not quite? It turned out, in fact, that the inspiration Valli was quoting was not Moroccan, but Indian, via a branch of the hippy path which Yoko Ono and John Lennon trod around the time of their Wedding Album of 1969. They both wore white.
Valli said he was listening to Yoko on a trip to India. A little detective work on Valli’s Instagram page shows that he was in Rajasthan in March at a party held by his Indian designer friend Saloni Lodha. A few pictures back, there he is in Marrakech, over New Year’s. That mix of holiday travel memories and their ’60s and ’70s fashion associations joins the dots towards how a part of his Spring collection turned out: white, the tunics, a velvet tiger-stripe pantsuit, the Mughal Tree of Life prints and embroideries later. A little way along, there was a short A-line tunic/caftan quite similar to Yoko’s wedding dress.
The same mind-set that has been influencing so many designers this season, then. Still, Valli’s real focus is on who he dresses: There were plenty of the short-in-front, long-in-back-dresses which young girls like Zendaya love wearing. They’re his classics.
