The Red Valentino girl has done a bit of growing up this season. The collection, formerly the sweet little sister to Pierpaolo Piccioli’s main and couture lines, has leveled up in terms of silhouette and edge, trading its signature ballet blush for a punkish, neon pink. (The line has also realigned at sales, appearing with designer collections instead of contemporary ones.) As such, silhouettes are shorter, sleeves are bolder, and the overall attitude is more power femme than principessa. “I think we found a new expression of the brand’s signature romanticism, which better reflects the free-spirited, powerful spirit of today’s girls,” wrote Piccioli over email.
The bows, scalloped edges, and point d’esprit fabrics that customers know and love continue, just with a bit of ’80s-tinged zhooshing. That decade’s fashion moments—micro mini dresses, ruching, marbled denim—were all reinterpreted in this collection, either toned up in buttery leather or toned down with the help of slouchy knitwear and delicately ruffled skirts. Transparency and prim shapes persist too, but now they appear in the form of glittery green party frocks with enormous bows and in macramé midi dresses paired with quirky sport socks and knotted mules. The idea is not a hard pivot from where Red once was, though it does come with a few surprises. Classic black suiting, bow-necked blouses, and one posh pair of high-waist leather pants are decidedly sharper than anything Red Valentino has put out before.
