“Giambattista Valli is all about happy time,” the designer declared as he surveyed his 2024 resort collection displayed in his brand-new showroom, located a stone’s throw from the Paris Opera.
Completed literally the day before, the space may have lacked air conditioning on one of the warmest days of the year in Paris so far, but models wafted across the beige carpet looking as if they had just strolled in from a pool party in Saint-Tropez.
“The whole world fantasizes about the French Riviera,” Valli said, explaining that he sought to capture the casual sophistication of a holiday wardrobe.
The stars of the collection were the vibrant prints based on the region’s abundant flowers: yellow anemones, a leaves-and-lemons motif, or a pattern of pink blooms named after Saint-Rémy-de-Provence. Valli pulled up his phone to display the videos of flowers that he sends to his design team.
“You don’t want to see a print that’s just a drawing,” he said. “You want to really smell the flowers.”
The lineup was rife with the dresses that have made the brand a go-to for everything from summer weddings to glamorous nights out. There were variations on the white goddess gown that Priyanka Chopra would wear later that day to the opening of the Bulgari Hotel in Rome.
Casual options ranged from a long fuchsia tiered cotton poplin dress to a black cocktail number that wrapped around the body like a beach towel.
A floor-length boho chic dress in a purple paisley print was cinched with a gold belt, while a short dress with a flowing cape back, in white chiffon printed with four-leaf clovers, was paired with Venetian-style velvet slippers adorned with a rhinestone bow — Valli’s idea of an ideal outfit for a Provençal bride.
“People are looking for something more sophisticated, less show-off,” he remarked. “They want content, not just a logo.”
But Valli is slightly over the notion of luxury, quiet or otherwise, and prefers to use the term “excellence” instead. That includes high-end fabrics, such as the macramé lace and sequined tweeds typically found in his haute couture line, and manufactured by a dwindling number of suppliers.
“They’ve suffered a lot these last few years, because it was all about prints and logos on plastic. It’s a different story today, so it’s a beautiful moment,” he said.
