Did Valentino Garavani invent the color red? There are those who think so. And he certainly understood its symbolism, from “Go to hell” to “Come to bed.” For Pierpaolo Piccioli, who took over the reins at the house, initially with Maria Grazia Chiuri, and, since 2016, has served as sole creative director, red is a thread.
But first, the black. For his fall show in Paris this week, Piccioli left behind last season’s lush Rousseau garden and gave us a sleek and sexy opening in all shades of black, with combat boots and de rigueur winged eyes. (As the world darkens, the Valentino woman too is on her guard and on the move.)
Other colors were teased in—nude, sage green, midnight blue—but red was the counterpoint. And sometimes the point. Red leather gloves, red coats, red ruffles (spécialité de la maison), and, finally, a sequined column that looked as right on Adut Akech as it might have on Lena Horne.
