Crying Diamonds
Geometric Discharge
- Joined
- Jan 13, 2008
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Who says you can’t pump a little poetic fantasy into the utilitarian Michelin Man puffer? Giambattista Valli did exactly that, with a lineup inspired by Saint Petersburg’s Winter Palace and the 2002 film “Russian Ark.” Thus, the ultratheatrical backdrop. Guests descended into the basement of the Paris Opéra and were greeted by mustachioed men in military garb, projected scenes from the Hermitage, live horses and a giant ice sculpture, not to mention falling snow in the center.
As for the clothes, Valli sent out a variety of jackets, chicly nipped at the waist or compact and egg-shaped, as well as ladified coatdresses with striking shoulder or collar emphasis, the underlying motif coming out most visibly in the details — bejeweled and embroidered insignias or ample chinchilla, fox and Persian lamb trims. Particularly alluring were the satin jackets covered in trompe l’oeil fur prints, topped off with the real stuff. Perfect winter-wonderland fare, to be sure, but nothing hit Valli’s thematic mark quite like the eveningwear — the series of fanciful tsarina ballgowns, which were distended down jackets paired with dramatic, sweeping skirts. For those latter-day ice princesses, naturally.
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