Valentino S/S 2016 Paris

[mistress_f]

yeah, no
i liked their work recently, but they lost me here, with the ugly prints, the 'tribal' inspiration, etc.
some looks are nice, but overall, i don't like it at all

 

[CrisGalaxy]

cultural appropriation much??

 

[nataliaapple]

Uncomfortable. That's how I feel about this collection. While beautiful, everything about it screams cultural appropriation and I have a problem with that. I think I was most alarmed? offended? (I don't even know) by the masks on the bags. What do they mean and represent in this collection? I won't even get started on the hair.

Lola701, Bahiyya & TREVOFASHIONISTO I agree with you all.

 

[anlabe32]

oh dear... you create a collection inspired by african tribes, cast a majority white models and then you choose their hair to be dreadlocks and cornrows. A hair style created by black people that is also seen as a negative connotation when worn by black people, yet when its on a white woman its seen as "trendy" "new" and "edgy". So no, its not okay... especially from designers who are so hesitant about diversity until what, a season ago?

If we keep treating it like a taboo or a "negative connotation" then it won't ever become positive or even normal. And it's just a hairstyle, which doesn't even have much meaning if you take it out of its context.
But wait, let me ask my black friends and boyfriend what they think about it... they probably won't even know people care about it

Like I said before, best collection of Paris, or even of the season.

 

[nataliaapple]

^Comical.

So many ignorant points in that statement I just have to laugh.

 

[MulletProof]

^ I wouldn't laugh, cultures navigate through social challenges like inequality differently.. frankly I don't think the lack of political correctness or even basic propriety on racism that I've seen in Europe is any wilder than the double standards and fake sensibility I see daily in places like California. I think this debate on hair for instance is a huge aberration, almost embarrassing for someone to even bring up in a time where the justice system flaws run deep and education is not for everyone.. someone arguing why black people wear blond wigs or white people wear dreadlocks, good if you're 10 and waking up to a world of differences, unacceptable if you're an adult and know (hopefully) what symbolisms are, what social and cultural elements are and their FUNCTION throughout history (not a sacred aspect to them and certainly not a possession).

 

[nataliaapple]

Well then, it's a good thing you're you and I'm me. If you couldn't sense the sarcasm in my 'laugh' then that completely went over your head now didn't it?

 

[orchidee]

It's not just a matter of no longer treating it as taboo. And you can't just "take it out of its context" because you feel like it. Because in the world at large it still matters. The harsh reality is that in the real world if a black man or woman were to wear cornrows or dreads to a job interview, 99.999% of the time they would be considered too "ghetto" or "unprofessional" based on their appearance alone. Whereas if a white or non-black person does it, no one will ever consider them to be unprofessional. They will just be praised for being artsy/cool or "transcending race" or some other BS. It's also not just a matter of aesthetics. Cornrows actually serve as a protective hairstyle for black hair so that their hair doesn't get damaged. They literally serve no purpose for other hair textures.

As for the collection itself, it's hardly the best. It's literally the same silhouette every season with a different type of embroidery and accessories. All they did this season was stick a bunch of stereotypical tribal motifs onto their boring dress shapes. If you are going to be inspired by a different culture, you at least need to do something new with it. Not just turn it into a caricature. Because what I get from this is that all that comes to mind when they think of Africa are straw huts, elephants, and tribal masks.

And the fact that they had the audacity to put all the models in cornrows and have a WHITE model open the show...

 

[MulletProof]

Well then, it's a good thing you're you and I'm me. If you couldn't sense the sarcasm in my 'laugh' then that completely went over your head now didn't it?

oh I didn't bother to "sense" anything, I took the usual shortcut to mockery to get a point across straight up as I'm doing it now, whether that was an attempt of sarcasm or not will be left on the good things that make you ..~you~, which contribute little here.

 

[Fashionstuff]

The best collection in PFW.

 

[Creative]

Valentino threads always disconcert me. It isn't fashion at all! Yet everyone thinks it's one of the best shows of the season. I'm sure they don't even do toiles anymore, just change the broideries and the prints... et voilà!

Maybe there are some pretty dresses in a "I'll wear this for my uncle's wedding" way, but... come on! At least ten people died of boredom while whatching the 90 looks -I almost did-.


And I honestly can't with another 'cultural appropriation' discussion. They are even more boring than this show, if possible.

 

[nataliaapple]

oh I didn't bother to "sense" anything, I took the usual shortcut to mockery to get a point across straight up as I'm doing it now, whether that was an attempt of sarcasm or not will be left on the good things that make you ..~you~, which contribute little here.

^Right. I completely got the fact that you didn't 'bother to sense' anything in your senseless post. But carry on.

Well said orchidee.

 

[dodencebt]

To me it's just pretty clothes, nothing to gush about. We have seen them a thousand times before, even though I like this new direction which is less conservative and at times quite racy.

 

[TREVOFASHIONISTO]

I love when a "new" trend is displayed on the runway, and people who are offended by it are told relax. It just goes to show you how backwards this industry is. Reading the description on the Valentino instagram page is just awful as well. Glamorizing West-African culture, (which btw West-Africa doesnt just have one culture) as if its the cute thing to do.

Some of the posts in this thread are so passive and disrespectful. Orchidee hits the nail on the head, and Bahiyya brings up a very intense topic about the military. I mean these issues and topics are still fresh, yet people want to excuse them for the name of fashion.

John Galliano was hung at the stake for his comments, and people still won't forget about it. When its ever an issue with blacks, hispanics, native americans, and even asians we're told to quit crying and to stop bringing it up. The privilege doesnt cease to amaze me

 

[Marc10]

Valentino threads always disconcert me. It isn't fashion at all! Yet everyone thinks it's one of the best shows of the season. I'm sure they don't even do toiles anymore, just change the broideries and the prints... et voilà!

Maybe there are some pretty dresses in a "I'll wear this for my uncle's wedding" way, but... come on! At least ten people died of boredom while whatching the 90 looks -I almost did-.


And I honestly can't with another 'cultural appropriation' discussion. They are even more boring than this show, if possible.

If we can't like anything or discuss anything, we might as well close TFS.

 

[thisismyname]

I thought a bunch of the looks in the first half of the show were an interesting spin on the aesthetic that they've developed for Valentino. I'll admit that I've grown to appreciate the new Valentino vision, even if it's not groundbreaking fashion design.

But then, like many of those on this thread, I began to look more closely at the accessories. It was the shoes that had the African mask as the heel that left such a bad taste in my mouth that the rest of the collection was tainted for me. And then I noticed the necklaces. And then I felt disgust.

Just the clothes alone walked a fine line between "the beauty that comes out of cross-cultural expression" and disrespecting another culture by presenting a caricature, but the accessories and the styling take it across that line. It's a shame that fashion collectively does not seem to learn.

 

[Ed..]

It's pretty but idk, it's like the same thing over and over again for the past few seasons.

Oh, and apparently they're holding a 'tribe party' tonight

 

[Creative]

If we can't like anything or discuss anything, we might as well close TFS.

Who said that?

In fact, I wish I could like everything as many of you do... But I just can't get along with mediocrity and bad shows.

 

[nataliaapple]

Oh, and apparently they're holding a 'tribe party' tonight

Oh, are they now?

 

[Morphe]

Extremely beautiful but extremely problematic as well.