Valentino F/W 10.11 Paris

[Urban Stylin]

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 agree Valentino said it himself that he liked to make women look beautiful like the women he saw on the silver screen and that became the signature of the house. IMO if this had been presented in a more feminine and classically beautiful way in the styling it would have been way better

 

[irulan]

To me, what makes a Valentino woman in the end is her unattainable air.

They are the girls from the silver screen, with the super-shiny hair and the heavy eyelids. Those who represent a way of dressing that is long gone in fast fashion. They won't care for comfortableness or trends. They want to look beautiful, easily. They are somewhat unreal. Disciplined, elegant, not daring, not dark.

That's my (very girly, romantic) idea of my former favourite brand. I'm well aware of the fact that this is an emotional issue with me to large parts. At the age of ten, I could tell apart a Valentino gown from all the other dresses in my mother's Elle.
So wonders will have to happen at Valentino to make me happy.

 

[gossiping]

what a shame. is all i can say

 

[Squizree]

It's really not that bad. Some of the ruffled pieces are quite beautiful really and remind me a lot of Valentino. I think this should have been the Haute Couture collection for last season.

The dresses aren't bad either. The pink one on Sasha is quite pretty and VERY Valentino. Probably the best thing these guys have ever done.

Perhaps someone gave them lashes until they could spell "Valentino"?

 

[Creative]

what a shame. is all i can say

Tell me about it. What's happening with fashion world?

 

[FASHIONLOVA]

oh wow i m really impressed
everything s so luxurious AND wearable
i like it a lot

 

[liberty33r1b]

finally this looks like Valentino again. the gowns are gorgeous, just as they should be!

 

[KhaoticKharma]

I think the fact that Chloe Sevigny famously wore one of the "new" Valentino looks at the Golden Globes this year speaks volumes to the new image they're going for... I don't like it at all, but I see what they're doing and I think it will be very profitable- popular with the young Hollywood set, bankable with the young moneyed set.

While I agree with the consensus that says this is not really the "spirit" of Valentino (I think a "young" Valentino would be trying to dress the Camilla Belles of the world, not the feminine indie hipster set), I don't always think that's what you need to do when you take over a house. Tom Ford is one of the most lauded designers both on these forums and in the fashion world at large, and honestly- what he was doing at Gucci and especially at YSL was nothing like what those houses were founded on. Sometimes I think it's okay to take one key element- for the Valentino designers, it's ruffles; for Tom Ford at Gucci it was ease; for Karl at Chanel, it's sporty- and just sort of run with it.

 

[Donatello89]

i think it's great good work, great fabric and materials

 

[Crying Diamonds]

Get over the ruffles. They were feminine until you did them.

 

[BlasianOne]

I Don't Use At All

 

[Label Basher]

I was all ready with my claws out ready to strike but this isn't that bad. It's hit and miss. I like some of the jackets and some of the dresses.

To me they just can't do Couture. RTW/Resort/PreFall are fine but someone else needs to do Couture.

 

[Fiercification]

It's pretty nice overall. Those nude jackets with the cut-out flowers are beautiful...I think I need time to digest the lace and red looks though. Shoes are gorgeous as usual.

 

[ForChicSake]

much ado about nothing

 

[TianSoFine]

When I saw the first few pictures in this thread, I thought they were going to follow in the steps of the Armani Couture SS10 alien invasion. I thought That is SO not Valentino.
But then, I suddenly saw the big ruffly flowly lumps of fabric. Um...just no. I love ruffles and frills, but they're supposed to be used to the effect of feminine elegance. Uh...huge miss!

 

[Chris_Couture05]

I just went through the collection agian, and I am still hating all of the ruffles. I mean they look nice and they would come across much better if they used less of them. They even put ruffles around the waistband of the pants, thats just dumb. Also the shoes.... Looks like something you could get at the discount bin at Wal Mart...

 

[jeremydante]

i love it; very delicate. i love the valentino red for a finale.

 

[InnocentSuccubus]

Hey, its better than Ungaro.

 

[helmut.newton]

daylife.com/

 

[Mr-Dale]

Hmmm....evening wear is not perfect. I've never been a fan of tiered gowns, so I don't like those. The nude gowns look too forced. I have to say though that the final red gown looks pretty good. I think they understand the DNA of the house perfectly, I just wished they would experiment into another direction when it comes to embellishing and frou-frou. We've seen the ruffles, now try something else. Or at least put the emphasis on something else. Couture was an effort into another direction, but that collection drifted away too far form the essence of Valentino. Maybe their ruffles sell sell sell and the chiefs insist on ruffles in the collections.

All in all, I think it's an ok collection.