Fashion is always something of a fairy tale, but even more so when designers Pierpaolo Piccioli and Maria Grazia Chiuri are the ones telling the story. For Red Valentino s new Fall lineup, the design duo drew inspiration from the childhood fable of "Hansel and Gretel." (No, their version looks nothing like the Jeremy Renner-Gemma Arterton flick currently in theaters.) They ve touched upon folkloric themes in the past, with Valentino s signature line, and explained in a phone interview that the Red customer takes a more playful approach to getting dressed, so they weren t afraid to really have fun with the collection s narrative. Little black dresses were trimmed with sweet floral grosgrain ribbon, while full petticoated silk skirts came in "marzipan" and "gingerbread" hand-painted prints. While some of those whimsical pieces came off as a bit costumey at times, they were matched by more versatile items that still incorporated couture flourishes. The lovely jacquard capes and a cropped leather toggle coat (from the Hansel section), for example, were made for a modern-day heroine.
