The models descend the long spiral staircase of Valentino's Parisian atelier on Place Vendome, all white stucco and red carpet, to the poignant notes of Casta Diva, wearing dream dresses.
In front of an enchanted audience, among which we can see a beautiful Jennifer Lopez in a long black dress with diamonds around her neck, the dresses from the new Valentino haute couture Spring/Summer 2024 collection, designed by Pierpaolo Piccioli, flow by.
They are skirts and tops embroidered with pavé of metallic plastic confetti made in the atelier by the seamstresses.
Tops and dresses that explode in triumphs of feathers that seem real: but instead are made of organza cut by the skilled hands of the maison's embroiderers.
Models in cloud gray coats with imposing shoulders also descend from the staircase, cut with such perfection that they seem sculpted.
A model wears a trench coat that at first glance appears to be green crocodile but instead is a shiny, hand-embossed fabric with a skin-like effect of the precious reptile.
Pierpaolo Piccioli, creative director of the Valentino maison, with his new, precious high fashion collection which was shown in Paris, in the Place Vendome atelier, wanted to pay homage to the beating heart of haute couture, to the temple of tailoring: l atelier, where haute couture collections take shape.
Where everything happens.
Le Salon, as the new collection is titled, is in fact the habitat of haute couture.
For clients and for the stylist it is a space of waiting and wonder, where dreams come true, through rites and rituals that are specific to it.
For Piccioli, the "Salon" also represents a return to tradition and a departure, a tribute to the classicism of haute couture and a possibility of renewal with a new proposal.
The Salon is not a stage, but rather the temple of high craftsmanship, where the act of creation is celebrated.
But be careful, the Valentino Le Salon collection is not something outdated because it is too anchored to classicism.
On the contrary, the new proposal is rooted in contemporary life, in modernity.
However, in this reflected image, he actually returns to the original intent of high fashion, to its genesis in reality.
The true sense of dressing, the timeless essence of couture.
The collection is in fact a modern wardrobe of garments conceived in our time.
Unexpected combinations spark the imagination, inspire emotions, different volumes, abstract sensations.
They evoke a freedom of expression, synonymous with love for real fashion.
In the clothes, fabric jewels that snake around the body, endless gold ribbons, defy gravity.
Exotic skins, fur and feathers are imitated through fabrics and techniques.
Nature is respected and reinvented: silk organza rouleaux and hand-cut sequins simulate the spirit of the natural world through the art of human ingenuity.
The incessant creation that is at the heart of couture allows for any possibility: the technique invents new realities, fabrics lightened as if by magic, materiality transfigured.
The colors come together in new and harmonious combinations: pale pink and rust, orange and magnolia, jade green and mustard.
She shows off a cape made of red roses, a fuchsia ball gown in mikado satin.
But she also shows off a rust tulle skirt worn with an orange cashmere parka, all patch pockets.
Even the light blue ball skirt is combined in a modern and irreverent way with the jacket with cashmere zip and hood, in cloud grey.
The latest black dresses are in Chantilly lace and voile, for a very refined nude look.
Among the models Mariacarla Boscano.
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