Alessandra Facchinetti out at Valentino *Update* new Creative Director at Tod's

[Street_a_Licious]

Coco had a totally new aesthetics which was met by an eager audience. not the same there.

but seriously, WHY do those people think that, just because some people can design accesories, it means that they can design RTW and Couture as well?

 

[tigerrouge]

I think everybody in fashion is "not easy to work with" by somebody else's standards.

When you're a designer, the shape your vision will take often won't match what your bosses or your backers will demand - either you can acquiesce to them or stand up for your own ideas. The definition of "who's unreasonable" entirely depends on where you're standing.

 

[Spike413]

It's amazing that this day and age you can go from doing shoes and handbags straight into couture. But then Chanel did start out designing hats...

But don't forget, she was a trained seamstress.

Back when Alessandra was ousted from Gucci and Giannini was promoted to RTW I was absolutely baffled and wondered what on earth possessed them to put a shoe and handbag designer at the helm of designing clothes. I mean, what could an accessory designer know about designing a coat?

Now it makes perfect sense. An accessory designer wouldn't know much about clothing design. The suits can then have more influence over ready to wear because the figure head isn't trained in designing garments and would therefore be much less opinionated about how the clothes should look, what would go into making them, and how they should be marketed. All of those factors will impact the price of the the clothes, which will effect who will be able to afford them, and which will effect business as a whole.

This is all speculation on my part, but really, what else could it be?

 

[psychodream7]

I think Alessandra should do a collection with Lars Nilsson!

 

[Peregrina_RZ]

the people is replacing Alessandra are Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pier Paolo Piccioli.
They work(ed) as accesories designers at valentino, now theu're in charge!

Let's now hope that Alessandra will find stability and peace!

I hope Valentino (as a brand) doesn's suffer as much as is suffering right now with all this weird management!

 

[dior_couture1245]

I hope it crumbles....smashes and burns! They certainly deserve it for replacing a wonderful designer with a TEAM of ACCESSORY designers.

 

[Pastry]

She's a very talented designer on a streak of the worst luck ever.

This is disgusting.

 

[fouroclock]

Poor woman. I'm gonna avoid the bottles right now, but to me Valentino was a chauvinist designer. When Alessandra took over, we saw more pants, the clothing was more assertive. I liked that narrative arc. The clothes she designed for the label weren't Valentino but they stood on their own merit. And the ads look damn good.

I'm just hoping that first of all she should get her own label and rock the world with it, and that Valentino the label doesn't experience the troubles Ungaro went through.

 

[Bidwell]

She has been around the block. She will have something up her sleeve, like her own collection. She will have certainly saved a bit of dosh and probably has investors lined up. She is obviously bankable.
I suspect it was entirely a personality clash. She looks like the stubborn, stick to your guns Annie type.

 

[esquire]

Valentino FW0809 campaign: public hair trimmed in a V shape...very classy

I really hope Valli or Elie Saab will take over now, I really can't picture any of the others taking his place..especially NOT Stefano Pilati, who's doing a wonderful job at YSL IMO.

You're absolutely right. Elie Saab is the only one in the current jungle i can think as well.

The great power of Valentino relies on the idea of he never tried to be too edgy, too clever or too smart.. he comes from an era where fashion was just about the most literal sense of seduction & glamour and this should remains as his label's signature- in a very crude words a no-brainer amazingly beautiful dresses with a great attention to detail and stunning craftsmanship. IMO, his intentions was always to produce beauty for the eyes - more than thoughts. Never pushed fashion forward but instead perpetuates what was good.

I think Saab is in the same league.

 

[helmut.newton]

If this was any other house, I would be interested to see what a pair of accessories designers could do with the Ready-to-Wear.

But Valentino? Nearly 100% of the accessories are tacky and Barbie-like.

Alessandra was *such* a good fit for Valentino. I felt they should have given her more time to develop her vision of a contemporary Valentino aesthetic.

 

[Spike413]

No offense to any of the Saab fans out there, but I just don't think he has the taste or refinement that the Valentino label demands. Even when Val went full on high octane glamour, the taste level was undeniable. He had an innate ability to know precisely when to stop embellishing a dress so that it doesn't look garish or heavy handed. Elie Saab's aesthetic might be in the same realm as Valentino's, but they're really worlds apart.

Same with Valli. Yes, he abides by the same laws of beauty, elegance, glamour and femininity as Valentino, but Valli's designs inevitably wind up looking like they were forced. Valentino's woman was always very lacquered, very made up and done, but that's just how she was, she left the womb with a perfect chignon and spent the rest of her life that way. With Valli or Saab's woman, it's like they're trying desperately to be that Valentino woman but not quite pulling it off naturally. Plus, no matter how gorgeous their work is, you can't beat around the fact that their stuff looks labored.

What Valentino needs to carry on the tradition is a) someone whose frame of reference isn't exclusivly in the world of mid-century couture and up-on-a-pedestal beauty and b) someone with a light hand and an understanding of when to stop working a garment.

 

[Dkammern]

She has been around the block. She will have something up her sleeve, like her own collection. She will have certainly saved a bit of dosh and probably has investors lined up. She is obviously bankable.
I suspect it was entirely a personality clash. She looks like the stubborn, stick to your guns Annie type.

investors lined up... i wish it could be true! my fear is that the global economic situation makes it really not the best time to take risks...
and like it or not, someone who's been fired after such a short period of time is a huge risk.
what is also worrying me is that alessandra had the wonderful chance to work with the incredibly talented team of seamstresses at valentino, and i wonder if not getting to an already established house wouldnt make it really hard for her to get a good team that can materialize her ideas (i am thinking that this is maybe the reason why i never quite liked her work for gucci... and i wouldnt like that to happen)
i really hope we get some news soon about her future plans! i dont want a fw09/10 without alessandra!

PS: as helmut said... accessories at valentino are really not the highlight of the house... at least Frida used to do a great job with accessories and she worked very well with prints and patterns and she knew what was sellable and desirable (note the past tense)
i seriously don't get this!

 

[reese06]

I am sad to see her go because it seems that houses really aren't giving designers a chance at these old couture/fashion houses. I think she would have been fired if she had done a collection that looked as if Valentino himself designed it. I hate to say but I think there was no way she really could have stayed at the house being the first successor to Valentino.

 

[Navygreen]

You're absolutely right. Elie Saab is the only one in the current jungle i can think as well.

The great power of Valentino relies on the idea of he never tried to be too edgy, too clever or too smart.. he comes from an era where fashion was just about the most literal sense of seduction & glamour and this should remains as his label's signature- in a very crude words a no-brainer amazingly beautiful dresses with a great attention to detail and stunning craftsmanship. IMO, his intentions was always to produce beauty for the eyes - more than thoughts. Never pushed fashion forward but instead perpetuates what was good.

I think Saab is in the same league.

Saab? OMG that's be f______ perfect!!

 

[JordanB]

it is unfortunate that she is leaving so soon. I thought she was a good match for Valentino.

 

[JuiceMajor]

Her replacement...all that sounds a little too familiar!! Gucci?

 

[ponytrot]

aw!

i really liked her at Valentino...she had a lovely deft touch...

i would really hate Saab at Valentino to be honest; i find Elie Saab very tacky, very much regurgitated Matel.

i hope they find someone who is a good replacement. I don't understand the designer shuffle these days, people coming and going. Perhaps fashion houses are more impatient to get immediate sales/results? doesn't seem like a recipe for long term success to me..

 

[Navygreen]

Where have all the people that used to bash Alessandra gone? Just a few months ago, noone really liked her work in Valentino.

 

[Needlecrush]

Valentino Confirms Chiuri, Piccioli as Creative Directors

Valentino Confirms Chiuri, Piccioli as Creative Directors
by WWD Staff
Posted Saturday October 04, 2008
From WWD.COM

PARIS – Accessories trump clothes again.
Valentino said its longtime accessories duo Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pier Paolo Piccioli would become creative directors for all categories, succeeding ready-to-wear and couture designer Alessandra Facchinetti, confirming a report on WWD.com Friday.

The change comes one day after Facchinetti staged her second rtw show for the Roman house amidst widespread speculation her days were numbered, creating an uneasy atmosphere at the event, held in a tent in the Tuileries.