Valentino Haute Couture S/S 09 Paris

[dumbfairy]

My first glance from the picture with the green dress was "wow, gorgeous." I was hopeful.

Same here,the peacock looking one? I don't think I have anything extra to say about all of this...it makes you wonder why Valentino himself stepped down when he still seems to exert all of the power behind the decision making.

 

[prettypouf]

The peacock one exactly
I really miss Valentino now as well. This is a big shame.

 

[AnaBGD]

I was ready to write this for Saab, but oh well, since he was better than usual I'll just write it here: beautiful, but painfully boring!
I don't know what I was expecting, and if I was expecting anything, but is too recycled and deja-vu, such a disappointment.

 

[tigerrouge]

Yes, the early images made me hopeful, but the more I look at the collection, the less I like it, because it's so uninspired. Valentino always played it safe, but he imbued his classic themes with his own confidence. This collection lacks confidence, as well as an experienced touch.

Who knows what lies ahead - confidence and experience come with time. But right now, I think this is the collection we expected to see, from two people who have yet to really inhabit the role of 'designer'. They could have potential, if they're given the space to expand their own themes.

 

[cesarcmma]

...As I expected this collection glows for the tacky embellishments and poor desing skills...

I loved Alessandra's work, it was magical and contemporary, beautifully designed, romantic.

You can't ask them to make wonders with couture when they aren't even trained to do RTW, and with those horrible rounded shoes there's no hope.

Even if I didn't knew anything about Alessandra, this is bad, the HUGE ruffles and flowers are enormous and poorly placed, you have to either go full ruffled and make a stuning garment or just a few ones, the dresses made of layers of the same fabric look boring (see olga's dres)and to top it all some pleats and seams have wrinkles...like the dress on Karlie K....

...bad bad bad...

and there weren't to much buyers in the audience

 

[saann]

I have to agree with most people here

though it's not entirely ugly, it's very meh.. and some do look like cheap knockoffs

it's not a trainwreck, but it's definately not couture

 

[LiuDat]

I feel like putting on one of these dresses would be like opening the Ark of the Covenant in an Indiana Jones movie.

 

[caliboy672180]

its like...marchesa and saab mixed..

i mean though we might not have liked val's styling and in inability to modernize, there i think we can all agree that when it came to couture, it looked like couture. this...is (grandma) rtw

 

[nyc_art_style]

meh. it's not horrendous, so i won't crucify the design duo. however, it is very Valentino. but as someone said before, not in a good way. There's nothing really couture about this either. you can't just throw some beading and feathers on fabric and call it couture.

 

[TREVOFASHIONISTO]

People are saying this is Valentino-like and
better than Alessandra's work..but if a new desinger
comes to the house we are going to want their touch of
Valentino not someone trying to be Valentino..this looks
not original and old I prefer Alessandra way more than "refurbished"
Valentino any day

 

[Carrme]

Love the black dress with the flower sported by Vlada

 

[diorrnottwarr]

Though I do find the collection, boring, tired, and completely uninspired, I think the bigger tragedy here is the fact that this is all being passed for couture. Perhaps, if this were RTW, I wouldn't have SO much against it but the fact that some of these looks are 'couture' is a disgrace to the whole week in itself. Also, I can understand why some people dislike Alessandra (though I am a huge fan myself) but at least she had a vision, a style, and a flair about her that caught peoples attention. In fact, I almost wish this collection was a conceptual whirlwind, even though it would probably be tacky, so there was at least SOMETHING worth remembering about it. The real crime here, however, is that there is absolutely nothing worth looking at twice. Some of the looks are nice, yes, but there is nothing fresh, literally everything has been done before. If the Alessandra haters out there wanted a more Valentino collection, congratulations, you got your wish; a dowdy, straight out of the archive collection.

PS, why are those shoes so bloody heinous!?

 

[prettypouf]

Though I do find the collection, boring, tired, and completely uninspired, I think the bigger tragedy here is the fact that this is all being passed for couture. Perhaps, if this were RTW, I wouldn't have SO much against it but the fact that some of these looks are 'couture' is a disgrace to the whole week in itself. Also, I can understand why some people dislike Alessandra (though I am a huge fan myself) but at least she had a vision, a style, and a flair about her that caught peoples attention. In fact, I almost wish this collection was a conceptual whirlwind, even though it would probably be tacky, so there was at least SOMETHING worth remembering about it. The real crime here, however, is that there is absolutely nothing worth looking at twice. Some of the looks are nice, yes, but there is nothing fresh, literally everything has been done before. If the Alessandra haters out there wanted a more Valentino collection, congratulations, you got your wish; a dowdy, straight out of the archive collection.

PS, why are those shoes so bloody heinous!?

A little off-topic but I love your username.

I have to say I enjoyed Alessandra's collections before, they weren't this bad. I have a real longing for someone with a real vision to lead such a visionary's label like Valentino-- I go from seeing his wonderful collections and inspiring ideas that create so much energy... to something drab and dull. There is much complaining to be done, but it's mostly that we want to see a really good direction for the house, there's no harm intended.

I can't see this being a memorable collection unless we look back a few year's from now and say something such as "we need the bad to appreciate the good" or "remember when..." but I think with a proper direction, Valentino can go far again.

 

[Andymoon]

LOVE!!!!!! Valentino never disappoints me. So classy yet innovative.

 

[TraiT]

Review from style.com is up:

By Sarah Mower
Following the not entirely elegant dismissal of Alessandra Facchinetti after two short seasons and the promotion of the accessory team as her replacements, the house of Valentino needs to regain its sense of equilibrium. Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pier Paolo Piccioli had backup on their first outing as haute couturiers. The retired Valentino Garavani and his entourage descended into the arena (a grand domed lecture theater in the Sorbonne) to endorse the debut, taking their ringside seats amid the kind of applause that might have once been accorded to a Roman emperor.

What the new duo showed was a respectful collection that returned Valentino to all its familiar bases. If not exactly literal throwbacks, the cream suits with stand-up sixties collars, fan-pleated coats, draped red dresses, and stately bejeweled ensembles of crystal-embroidered coats over chiffon spelled La Dolce Vita, loud and clear. It was all very cautious, and so very ladylike that today's skinny young models looked strangely out of place in such womanly designs. On the other hand, this was only the first outing for the Chiuri-Piccioli team, and a rush to judgment on any new designers should be resisted until they've had a chance to settle into their responsibilities. Moving forward and finding relevance for the brand in ready-to-wear is their next task—and their first attempt at that will be under the microscope in a matter of weeks. For the moment, though, a cooling down of the drama around this house is the best that can be hoped for, and as Valentino moved backstage to congratulate his protégés, he looked pleased enough with what they'd done.

A question: Then why schedule their debut during couture? It's "Couture" for god's sakes.
And about the last line, anyone will feel complimented when someone tried to do "you", but ended up with crap.

 

[DandyWarhol]

what is this. l o l.
it's almost laughable, and then you think about how classy valentino used to be as a label and you just want to cry wondering if that is over forever
nothing here is original.

 

[ponytrot]

HAHAHAHAHA heheheheLOL.

by "respect" don't they mean, what Valentino stipulated?

that they'd just go through the archives and regurgitate the same tired, old designs?

and they buried Alessandra for THIS?

great.

 

[diorrnottwarr]

LOVE!!!!!! Valentino never disappoints me. So classy yet innovative.

Really? Can I ask where you see the innovation? I'm trying to hear both sides of the show before I declare that this new duo is hopeless, in my opinion.

Also, this collection just proves Garavani isn't looking for anything in a 'new' design team but reiteration of what he revolutionized years ago. It's sad to see the creativity being compromised, if not all together tossed out the window. This is hardly progressive.

 

[fouroclock]

Note to the powers that be: The only time you can complain about a designer who works for you is if that designer's name is Julien MacDonald.

I hope Alessandra comes out of this mess with class and with her own label that will finally bury this undeserving old hat!

 

[elle_gb]

I don't know i think it's tooooooo Valentino which is good i guess. But Alessandra at least she brought something new to the house, more fresh look and more exciting. This is like u're watching Valentino himself show, i think at least they should have a twisted.