Pierpaolo Piccioli is definitely one of those who knows how to master locations. Especially when it comes to couture. For the fall-winter 2023 haute couture show, Valentino’s creative director chose the Chateau de Chantilly, not as a specific object, but as a place that, despite its past and status, can be a universal space: a space of equality, beauty and freedom Actually, like haute couture. Paradox? Good.
With that knowledge, it’s easy to explain Kaia Gerber’s appearance at the beginning of the show. Her oversized off-white shirt, chandelier earrings, and jeans. Nothing out of the ordinary, right? No way: this pair of jeans is actually made of silk gazar, fully embroidered with tiny mother-of-pearl beads dyed in 80 shades of indigo to replicate the actual texture of denim. This is the paradox that has become the focus of this haute couture season and has made it possible to demonstrate the first-class work of the Valentino studio to an even greater extent. Therefore, column dresses and tunics were sewn on the bias, adding soft draping, hooded cloaks turned into a “cloak of modern madonnas”, and a white dress made of light velvety cashmere on a simple T-shirt with a asymmetrical hem at the back.
