'Enchanted, origami-like structures… soft, pleated, vaporous. Delicate designs that levitate and swirl, like creatures in a fantastic marine universe…'
Welcome to the exotic world of the Valentino spring/summer 2011 couture collection, as described by its creators, Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pier Paolo Piccioli. At its debut in Paris in January models almost floated into being - mermaid-like glittering, fronded, wafting along in barely there fabrics, translucent, like sea jellies or anemones.
It was a landmark collection - elegant, detailed couture that at the same time felt modern and fresh. And it suggested a fresh start, oh-so politely (as is the only way when it comes to couture), for the old house of Valentino.
Some said it couldn't be done. It is three years since Chiuri and Piccioli were appointed joint creative directors of the legendary Italian fashion label, which was established by Valentino Garavani and his partner Giancarlo Giammetti in 1960 and which created wedding dresses for both Jackie Kennedy and Jennifer Lopez. It had become synonymous with the persona of its larger-than-life designer (the documentary Valentino: The Last Emperor is a must-see).
The task before Chiuri and Piccioli - to take couture and ready-to-wear to the next generation - was seen by many as a poisoned chalice. Garavani was a master couturier, who retired in 2008 to great fanfare - a three-day extravaganza in Rome. The designer who took the reins from him was unceremoniously ditched after just two seasons. Alessandra Facchinetti's designs were judged too directional for established customers and yet not appealing enough for a new audience.
But Chiuri and Piccioli, who had already worked at the house for 10 years as accessories designers, were not intimidated. 'We never had time to feel scared! We were much too busy preparing for the task…' says Chiuri, speaking in the midst of preparations for the autumn/winter 2011 ready-to-wear collection in Paris. 'One of the things Mr Garavani believed in was following your personal vision and standing up for your point of view. It's a philosophy we've adopted in our own careers.'
Those two careers have been entwined for almost two decades now, since Chiuri and Piccioli started designing accessories together for the Italian label Fendi. Although it's highly unusual to have two head creatives, Piccioli says it's an entirely normal relationship for them. 'At this point we really don't have distinct roles, although of course we are two different people with different opinions,' he says. 'We work together through a continuous exchange of ideas. It's actually a great opportunity rather than a limitation.'
Together they have embraced what Chiuri calls the 'magical experience' of working with the premières (the head seamstresses at the atelier). It can take hundreds of hours for just one dress to be made. 'It's a long process that demands incredible attention to detail,' she admits. 'One long dress in the collection required 500 hours of workmanship and the work of between three and six seamstresses. At one point it was what we call 'nailed down', which is when the pleats are fixed with pins on the work table for at least three days, allowing for the variety of different laces to settle and become uniform, and the pleats to remain adequately fixed.'
With such dresses costing tens of thousands of pounds and available only to a select group of the wealthiest individuals in the world, haute couture can always be sniffed at as being irrelevant - immoral even. But it reflects the pinnacle of talent and creativity in the fashion industry, and with a growing appreciation for old craftsmanship, together with a general fashion obsession in the West and newly powerful East, couture seems to be attracting attention again. 'This is definitely true,' agrees Piccioli. 'The fantasy-based aesthetic of couture, which may have looked out of step with the times a decade ago, seems to chime with a new generation. To us, couture exists to make us dream. An haute-couture collection always arises from a dream, an emotion, a moment of beauty. By definition every piece is one-of-a-kind. There's a timeless quality to couture, as though it doesn't belong to a specific place or generation.'
Now young Hollywood in particular is embracing Valentino. Emma Watson wore a dress from the new collection to the Baftas. And at the Critics' Choice Awards Elle Fanning, star of Sofia Coppola's film Somewhere, chose a short little number also by the house. By the way, she's 12. If that's not the new generation of couture, I'm not sure what is.
