Valentino Haute Couture F/W 2015.16 Rome

[Creative]

Very boring. Same old, same old... Quite corny too.

Valentino is the classy Elie Saab. No fashion at all. Just 'pretty' dresses that aren't even pretty for me.

And I'm surprised by the reaction here in tFS. It's just exactly the same as other seasons! The venue is better, though.

 

[dior_couture1245]

Very boring. Same old, same old... Quite corny too.

Valentino is the classy Elie Saab. No fashion at all. Just 'pretty' dresses that aren't even pretty for me.

And I'm surprised by the reaction here in tFS. It's just exactly the same as other seasons! The venue is better, though.

Exact same thoughts!

It's all so trite to me. I can't even comment on the clothes because, while pretty they may be, pretty is all they are. But what really bugs me is how contrived the "emotion" of the show is. So you played Barber's "Adagio for Strings" and Le Mempris and other stirring compositions...and???? Anyone can play that music to set a superficial tone of drama and elegance and melancholy. But few can construct actual heartachingly beautiful fashion, rather than just using tired tropes of drama and poignancy.

I can recall only one or two genuinely poignant shows/collections...McQueen's "Widow's of Culloden" show of 2006, Galliano's Dior Couture Edie Sedgewick/Empress Josephine collection from 2005 (the Dutch master passage) and Galliano's Hollywood backlot show with Sarah McLaughlin's "Angel" on the soundtrack, also from 2005. But I digress...

All in all...this schtick from Valentino just doesn't do it for me simply because it is not layered and complex enough of a vision to be effective. It's pretty one-dimensional.

 

[Salvatore]

Exact same thoughts!

It's all so trite to me. I can't even comment on the clothes because, while pretty they may be, pretty is all they are. But what really bugs me is how contrived the "emotion" of the show is. So you played Barber's "Adagio for Strings" and Le Mempris and other stirring compositions...and???? Anyone can play that music to set a superficial tone of drama and elegance and melancholy. But few can construct actual heartachingly beautiful fashion, rather than just using tired tropes of drama and poignancy.

I can recall only one or two genuinely poignant shows/collections...McQueen's "Widow's of Culloden" show of 2006, Galliano's Dior Couture Edie Sedgewick/Empress Josephine collection from 2005 (the Dutch master passage) and Galliano's Hollywood backlot show with Sarah McLaughlin's "Angel" on the soundtrack, also from 2005. But I digress...

All in all...this schtick from Valentino just doesn't do it for me simply because it is not layered and complex enough of a vision to be effective. It's pretty one-dimensional.

Totally agree. It's very pretty and there are some nice details and it is definitely less one-note than before, but it's nothing that will keep me coming back to it to peruse and study and obsess over. It won't really stick in my mind, but they know their clientele and what they like ... I guess this is it.

 

[Nymphaea]

Pretty, but dull and boring at the same time, easily forgotten.

 

[reesewu]

Perfect. The red draping gown and the black velvet ones are the best.

And they got that "many" POC walk in the shows? Lol, I'm surprised.

 

[eternitygoddess]

This was was really one of those shows where everything comes together to create a magical moment: the location, the music, how unbelievably stunning all the models looked, the mesmerizing collection... it was a dream. They're in a league of their own, there's no one in fashion today that can produce beauty like they do in every collection.

That gorgeous sunset over Rome had a tough competition today.

What?

 

[HeatherAnne]

The definition of regal. Swooning hard, especially at the closing red gown. The hairstyle (as usual) will be emulated for the next year. Best Valentino collection in years for me.

 

[Marc10]

What?

I mean in fashion today, of course.

 

[LANZO_358]

I loved this collection and contradistinction of the models of colour, who were like beautiful Shebaean goddesses descended upon homogenous Rome.

 

[Mody]

Fashion is fundamentally essentially initially beautiful outfits that make people who wear them feel good Applaud Valentino for doing this basic thing for seasons If you want some statement conceptual futuristic fashion You might as well invent a time machine to travel back or forward Since Fashion is approaching massive audiences now than ever before it is fulfilling people at the most basic need instead of some fashionista's more exclusive and special need

 

[Eufemia]

Incredible, this is like a piece of art. Everything was amazing, including the cast <3

 

[squilliam]

Beautiful as always, still similar to what they normally do but they've updated a bit and added some new ideas. I want them to continue in this direction and keep changing and adding new stuff, also making things a bit more bright and fun and youthful, that's what valentino was about

 

[gossiping]

i love the set, if they can stop using the house they use in paris for the next collection and find something more interesting like this

 

[Benn98]

Beautiful as always, still similar to what they normally do but they've updated a bit and added some new ideas. I want them to continue in this direction and keep changing and adding new stuff, also making things a bit more bright and fun and youthful, that's what valentino was about

I've been wondering whether these ethereal floor length gowns in general appeal to the younger woman. Do they cherish it much like a couture piece, something you wear every now and then, or would they incorporate it into their daily looks? I find that the mens line appeal to men of all ages. For instance, you rarely see their dresses in magazines like ID, or on IG, or street style feeds etc. Yet on the other hand it's somehow refreshing that they stay relevant without blatantly pandering to the youth.

 

[Spike413]

See, here's the problem I'm having with them doing a collection almost entirely in black: as it is their dresses (because apparently pants and other tailored separates don't exist to these designers) already look indistinguishable from one to the next in a given collection, and that's when they're in various colors and with a multitude of embellishments. Render them almost exclusively in black, with the only contrast being a passage of all red, and they literally blend into each other. Oh sure, there are slight differences here and there, but honestly, I'd sooner commend the Elie Saabs and Zuhair Murads of the couture world who at least have the decency not to show the same two silhouettes ad nauseum, season upon season, and call it art.

It's pretty telling that their 80-something year old predecessor, a man who came up in a totally different world with totally different beauty ideals that really didn't change very much during the course of his career, took more risks than these two supposedly "youthful" designers do anymore.

 

[TREVOFASHIONISTO]

^i actually would have to agree with this, other than the Zuhair comment . That is not designing to me

 

[Spike413]

^ Neither is this if you really think about it. It's decorating -- well done decorating, but decorating.

 

[squilliam]

Well of course Zuhair shows different dresses all the time, he copies from many different designers not just one...
But yes, as beautiful as their creations are for valentino, they're repetitive. I would imagine their biggest clients to be very old women or middle eastern women who have to be very modest and essentially wear the same silhouette every time. Even the insanely wealthy like variety if they can have it. It's the same basic dress every time with different embellishments

 

[Lola701]

I think this is beautiful collection as always with Valentino.
Couture (and fashion in general) is going through some major changes. For a decade, couture was about "the image, the marketing, the ideas, the creativity...etc". Chanel was the only money maker of that whole affair because they had the best "combinaison": pragmatism, creativity, extravaganza and showmanship.
Dior and Chanel were the only relevant couture houses in terms of fashion.

Now, with RTW being more and more expensive (and creative), more brands are doing couture "for their clients".
The target of Valentino couture is their clientele, like Elie Saab, Stephane Rolland, Dolce & Gabbana...etc
Who are Elie Saab clients? Princesses and socialites who wants clothes for their big events. Most of them are from the middle-east and they wants to be chic and look rich while being respectful to their culture.

Valentino is totally doing that. Their collections are less and less about daywear. It's very traditional in a way but totally "fashion" because of the name, the drama and the craftmanship.
THis is totally approachable kind of beauty. It's not too edgy à la Chanel and not too costumey à la Gaultier.

It's very interesting to see that the most influencial couture houses today are Valentino and Chanel (Dior has lost it IMO). They are giving to their clients what they want in a very different way (one is more innovative than the other) and all the others are following.

 

[Benn98]

Valentino is totally doing that. Their collections are less and less about daywear. It's very traditional in a way but totally "fashion" because of the name, the drama and the craftmanship.
THis is totally approachable kind of beauty. It's not too edgy à la Chanel and not too costumey à la Gaultier.

Thanks Lola, you pretty much answered the question I had earlier!