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

[Pinkey]

noooooo!! sad sad sad

 

[seanutbutter]

I had a feeling this would come soon, but it's still so shocking to hear the news.

 

[dior_couture1245]

I hope they choose an unknown...someone who's worked behind the scenes...maybe someone from within the Valentino family, like how Pilati came to power at YSL.

 

[kuba01]

I think the boys from Proenza Schouler would be a perfect fit for Valentino. Their designs are very sophisticated and womanly - the same aesthetic as in Valentino's collections.

Plus, its not like it will be them and only them designing! They will merely be in creative control of Valentino, and in control of the 20 or something designers that work for Valentino. They will be guided and nutured by a family - the Valentino family

Plus - wasn't Louis Vuitton is the same position with Marc Jacobs - THE French luxury house hired a virtually unknown American

 

[dior_couture1245]

^^When I think of Proenza Schouler, I tend to think girly, which doesn't fit well with the Valentino aesthetic, which is more womanly and glamorous. HOWEVER, Proenza's FW 07 colletion was a big step in the right direction for the PS boys and if they continue to move in that direction, I wouldn't be opposed to them taking over Valentino. Their FW 07 collection was beautiful, youthful, yet mature, sophisticated and timeless, and I could easily see a show like that, with a few tweaks, fit very well with Valentino. I do think that they'd have to up the ante on their eveningwear, which, for the most part, is non-existant....and we all know that eveningwear was Valentino's specialty!

 

[birdofparadise]

Marc Jacobs was okay for Vuitton because they really didn't have a womenswear design identity. A sigh of relief came only with Murakami and even then it seemed tense right up into contract renegotiations. Valentino needs to go European, there's no way those two children could begin to touch on traditions you only get in textbooks at Parsons, its not in the air, in the water here. Trapunto and a cloche shouldn't really cut it when you think about it...

 

[fotogenic models]

This is honestly shocking. I mean I knew it had to be soon but like...it's weird.

Hmmm, I guess we can only look towards the future. I'm now just excited to see who will take over

 

[style_expert]

Yeah, I'm sure Tom Ford would follow the Valentino aesthetic

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.

 

[iLoveCouture]

from nytimes.com:

By SUZY MENKES
Published: September 4, 2007
LONDON
In a dramatic gesture on the eve of the international fashion collections, Valentino, with his partner, Giancarlo Giammetti, announced Tuesday that both would resign from the Valentino company in early 2008.
The news ended speculation that has buzzed around the fashion house since a star-studded gala in Rome in July celebrating the iconic Italian couturier's 45 years in the business.
Valentino, 75, said he would leave the company he founded with Giammetti in the early 1960s after his ready-to-wear show in Paris in October and his couture collection next January.
Calling the anniversary celebrations "a moment of infinite magic and tremendous joy," Valentino said that this seemed "the perfect moment to say adieu to the world of fashion."
"My future will be filled with new interests and challenges," he said in a statement. "Some may be linked to fashion, as I have a strong desire to create and support institutions to promote the study of fashion design, and to preserve the history of the art of fashion."
In a briefer statement that underscored his role as Valentino's facilitator, Giammetti said: "I feel honored and infinitely grateful to have been working with such a powerful creative force in the making of a prestigious international brand."
That brand has been controlled since earlier this year by Permira, the private equity group based in London. Permira is in the process of completing the €2.6 billion, or $3.5 billion, buyout - which includes the more lucrative Hugo Boss brand - from the Marzotto Group, which bought it in 2002.
Although Valentino had repeatedly declined to comment on his presumed departure, it was generally assumed that Permira would look for younger talent, perhaps with Valentino as a consultant.
The fact the announcement was not made jointly with Permira suggested that there could have been some conflict. But it could equally be because no successor has yet been found. Permira had no immediate comment.
Speculation has recently centered on Alessandra Facchinetti, 35, an Italian former designer at Gucci, and on the design duo behind the American label Proenza Schouler. The Valentino Fashion Group took a 45 percent stake in that company in July, and Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez, both 29, who are behind Proenza Schouler, appear to be waiting in the wings.
Valentino Garavani, who was trained in Paris, ultimately rose to the dizzying heights of Italian haute couture and has become a fashion legend.
He dressed the famous, from Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis to Sophia Loren, and a slew of young European and Hollywood stars. It was Marzotto, however, that made the company, known for its red ink as well as the red carpet, profitable.
The Valentino group is just the latest among brands searching for new blood as famous designers reach their 70s and beyond. Yves Saint Laurent made his high-profile exit in 2002 and the current YSL designer, the Italian Stefano Pilati, has also been suggested as a possible replacement for Valentino.
Private equity investment in branded companies is currently the height of fashion. The British shoe maker Jimmy Choo, Samsonite and the American sportswear designer Betsy Johnson are prime examples of fashion brands bought by private equity firms.
Although Prada is supposedly considering finally going ahead with its much-delayed initial public offering, and Ferragamo has announced that it plans to go public next year, investors are currently offering such big numbers that they may ultimately be more attractive to family-owned brands than going to the market.

 

[fouroclock]

Yeah, I'm sure Tom Ford would follow the Valentino aesthetic

And to remember how messy those days were. Seeing that Valentino doesn't seem to be the hostile type, hopefully this won't be as bad. I feel bad for Facchinetti, she's probably watching her every step right now.

Btw, wasn't the whole retirement/resignation thing been going on for two eyars now?

 

[christina126]

Noooooo No one else can fill his shoes. There's going to be a huge void in the fashion world, and in my heart.

 

[mme]

How depressing, my mom found out about this first on the radio... so I rushed home after school to check on it I like the idea of the Proenza Schouler boys for Valentino, but it just wouldn't be the same...

 

[eternitygoddess]

Valentino is all about old-world elegance, classic, not cutting edge or avant-garde.

I CANNOT see Proenza Schouler as a successor. They're too NY, black-and-white, without any womanly feel to their clothes.

 

[dior_couture1245]

^^I agree....that's why I'm not really digging the Proenza Schouler idea...not that they're extremely cutting edge or way out there avant-garde, but, I just don't think their aesthetic melds well with that of Valentino.

 

[TheGlassAngel]

Nah. Proenza Schouler are more of a clean-cut, sleek brand. They're very unfussy and prefer clean lines (does that even make sense? ), Valentino is about embellishments and straight up glamour

Tom ford might be able to do it if he doesn't try to sexualize the brand.

 

[ETROsexualJ]

Not the biggest loss in the world.

 

[kuba01]

This is probably going to offend the Valentino fans, but...

Valentino, for me, never meant anything in the fashion world. It stood for luxury and opulence, but it never actually did anything. His collections were beautiful, yes, but boring and they did nothing for the progression of fashion.

I feel like someone else needs to reinterprete the brand and create something opulent and glamorous but not out dated and repetitive.

Lets face it, Valentino might make beautiful clothes but he does nothing for the evolution of fashion.

I'm glad he's made the decision to step down.

 

[JeanAvril]

Why is everyone talking about Proenza Schouler? PS is so contemporary, modern, young, etc. Valentino is straight-up glamour. Glamour does not come to mind when I think of Proenza Schouler.

And I beg to differ, kuba01. How do you stay in the fashion business for nearly half a century and not mean anything to the fashion world?

 

[kuba01]

^^^ easy - just appeal to women with heaps of money and no style! Rich people will buy anything that comes from Paris and has a ridiculously expensive tag.

 

[TheGlassAngel]

I respectfully disagree, Kuba.

I am not Valentino's biggest fan but WHY must he move fashion forward? It was not his job to. It is the job of Prada and Balenciaga, etc to move fashion towards the next step.

Valentino's venue was classic, Hollywood glamour. In an industry where everything must be constantly reinvented to stay fresh, it takes something more to stick with one brand concept and that's what Valentino has consistently done throughout his career. He stuck to a concept that is wearable and glamorous. Is it exciting? No. But Valentino isn't expected to be,

Yes, his designs can be boring, yes it's very similar but that's Valentino, that's his image. It's not his job to shock us.