-By Pratyasha Sarkar
On a bright Friday, the Italian fashion house Valentino debuted its menswear collection in Milan’s most illustrious university with a subtly dapper design statement.
A particularly emotive performance by vocalist d4vd, supported by a powerful base and percussion, serenaded the show, which was staged inside the garden of the cloisters of the Università degli Studi di Milano.Every time one of the dozen Thai singers or K Pop stars entered the college during the pre-show, hundreds of fans let out tremendous squeals.
Pierpaolo Piccioli, creative director of Valentino, presented a wonderful wardrobe for spring-summer 2024, a timeless style that was tastefully modernised by rich tech proficient fabrics and a feeling of subtle colours. The front row was packed with Asian celebrities, including Japanese models Shuzo and Yamato.
There were inevitably flecks of bright bubble gum pink, but there were also soft copper, black as a starless night, sparkling fuchsia, and grey. The blown-up prints, where peonies sprouted on shirt jackets and orchid petals and labellum became one-foot-wide images, were undoubtedly the show’s highlights.
According to Piccioli’s programme notes, “Transformed contexts can shift perception so tailoring, once symbolic of power and success, can now be worn by a new generation as an expression of individuality.”
He frequently incorporated elements of haute couture, such as ecru blazers or long French blue work jackets embroidered with fabric flowers, enormous denim leather dusters, or a magnificent trench-meets-dressing gown with a single white rose and a skillfully sewed, meter-long stem from lapel to hem.
The programme, Narratives, featured several looks with quotations from Hanya Yanagihara’s book A Little Life. The author and chief editor for New York Times’ T magazine,Yanagihara was herself present in the eminent front row.
“We are so old, we have become young again.” The quote appeared on stylish classic blazers, embossed on pristine white poplin shirts, and printed on very wide denim pants. All of this culminated in a wonderful performance of the Smiths classic There Is a Light That Never Goes Out by d4vd, who goes by the stage name David Anthony Burke.
