Males in skirts should not a provocation, in accordance with Pierpaolo Piccioli — they telegraph freedom.
The intention of Valentino’s artistic director is to go away “conventional machismo” behind, however on the similar time, he makes a degree of staying away from any “aesthetic dictatorship.”
“It’s crucial to me to redefine the masculine identification,” mentioned Piccioli after the present, held within the courtyard of Milan’s Statale College. “It mustn’t comply with the foundations of society or the perfection related to success. Society relegates males in [pre-determined] packing containers as a result of it’s simpler, however the actual energy is to be free, even displaying some fragility whereas being resilient.”
Piccioli revisited the standard menswear codes, wishing “to keep away from any uproar,” and on this vein, the Valentino man has no qualms about sporting a flowing silk coat embellished with a floral sample, or an emerald inexperienced jacket embroidered with flowers and sequins. Any shade of pink is not a taboo, neither is a skirt worn underneath a superbly tailor-made blazer.
Valentino Mens Spring 2024
Giovanni Giannoni/WWD
“The gathering is anchored within the conventional guidelines of tailoring, as soon as a logo of energy and success, however rendered modern, with shorter pants or skirts, as an expression of individuality,” mentioned Piccioli, who, to be truthful, has lengthy been questioning conventions along with his designs, shifting the model from an idea of way of life to that of a neighborhood.
The designer underscored that it’s not essential to run away from pre-defined guidelines, and that they’ll really be overturned even in an imperceptible method. Living proof, an embroidered flower can change a tie or, positioned on a buttonhole, is harking back to a gentleman’s etiquette of yore.
The double cotton jacket and shorts combo in cream with a number of embroidered flowers in the identical shade was merely stunning. A number of appears featured oversize, stylized poppy flowers they usually have been spot on — and genderless besides. Piccioli has been perfecting layering and the juxtaposition of various colours — azure and burgundy one instance — and the palette within the assortment was mouthwatering.
The shorts and skirts, in addition to the breezy silk tops and saggy pants, felt proper underneath the day’s scorching solar, as fashions walked on a white platform within the courtyard of the storied establishment to a dwell efficiency of D4vd.
Valentino Mens Spring 2024
Giovanni Giannoni/WWD
With the invitation to the present, the designer despatched out a e-book by Hanya Yanagihara, “ A Little Life,” and he spelled out a number of quotes from the creator on a black blazer and on a denim coat. One specifically learn, “We’re so previous, we’ve grow to be younger once more.”
“The previous could be a part of the current,” defined Piccioli, additionally referring to the choice to indicate in Milan, which is a mirrored image of the previous, as founder Valentino Garavani staged his first menswear present within the metropolis in 1985. “Time is a software to evaluation issues, on daily basis you possibly can change your thoughts.”
Time was additionally a theme inherent in one other inspiration — the Japanese idea of Kintsugi, which honors imperfection and restore. This translated right into a denim coat with seen stitches on the neckline, for instance.
“I notice not all people will perceive my fashion, however that’s cool. It might be too straightforward in any other case, and I wish to stir the dialog,” he concluded.
