I still don't get all the people bitching about how un-Valentino they are because so much of this seems dead on Valentino just less fussy and frou-frou.
It kind of suggests that people either hate them just for the sake of hating them
You constantly hear people going on about what these designers shouldn't be doing because it's not Valentino enough, but never actually suggesting what they should be doing. It kind of suggests that people either hate them just for the sake of hating them, or don't know any better than Chiuri and Piccioli what it is that Valentino should be doing.
So basically you want them to just replicate what Valentino himself did, correct?I have a lengthy list of what they should be doing. Here it comes:
1. Step it up in the daywear. Sure, Valentino was famous for his gowns, yet there were some great daywear focused collections, e.g. FW 07. All I ever see them doing is a low-cut, straight pair of trousers with a wide shirt.
2. More Frills and Frou Frou. Yeah, sorry. Valentino just spells frills. I go somewhere else for simplicity. Embroidery is lacking as well.
3. Better colour. There's too much black there. Use more pastels, more white and for once dare to use more than two colours in outfits. Also, prints never hurt at Valentino.
4. Stop the new aesthetics sh*t. Valentino before was ageless elegance, with, I admit it, lots of granny suits for the ladies who lunch. Because that is the Valentino customer. But there were always nice girly things thrown in, see SS07. Their woman is a skimp.
5. Flattering shapes. If Mr Garavani liked anyone, he liked women. He cut nice gowns that would fit. Not ruffled tents.
6. More careful in the beauty department. Make-up and hair was always chic and ladylike at Valentino. Pretty, not edgy. It may sound stuck up, but it's the brand's identity. There's no thigh-high slits at Jil Sander either. Why is it wrong to stick to a working, wonderful DNA?
7. Bows. Where the hell did they go? A bow is Valentino trademark. Karl does tweed suits and pearls at Chanel, doesn't he?
Seriously, it's not that hard. I'm normally not like that and I can appreciate the most diverse and young designers. I just think there's a truckload of designers who could do a neater, nicer, better selling, more elegant product.
I could, for God's sake. I dare the Valentino company to let me do it. Or Erdem. Or both of us. I'm sure we'd work out great.
I guess Mr Garavani locked them into the archives after HC and threatened to make pug-food out of them if they wouldn't ruffle the thing up.
I still don't like it. I came to hate and that's what I'll do.
what is it with all the ruffles?! on some of the looks it works, actually really nicely, but for most of it it's overkill.
So basically you want them to just replicate what Valentino himself did, correct?
That's an unreasonable expectation, not only because no new designer should try to duplicate the designer who came before them, but also because no matter how closely they may copy his look people will still rip it apart because it won't be as good as the original. Their job is not to replicate the archives, and their job is not to try to be another designer. Their job is, in essence, to distill what their predecessor was all about into a new vision, and that is exactly what they've been trying to do.
I think people talk about the DNA of the house and the look that a designer was known for as if they're the same concept, and they're not. Look at Chanel, look at Balenciaga, look at Givenchy...none of those houses look ANYTHING like they did when the namesake was alive and in charge, but the current designers take the spirit of the house and channel it through their own sensibilities to create something contemporary and personal to them.
But they have been failing at that job, there past collection has completly missed the mark. I dont think they should copy his work but at least use his techniques, like mixing different colors and patterns and beautiful embroidery which I have not seen at all. There are missing elements of the house in their designs. And whlie yes some house like Chanel, Balenciaga and Givenchy may not look the same as they once did, we can still see the spirt of the house in thesse collection. Take Balenciaga for example, it may not look like it used to but one thing we can always count on is beautiful structered garments. The house has been making these kinds of garments since the 40's. So what Im saying is that the new designers of Valentino are missing things that Mr. Garavani used that made his house such a big success