Le charme of the French Riviera cast its spell on Giambattista Valli this season. Valli’s clientele is chic and “nomadic,” as he puts it, and resort is the time of year when weddings and parties around the globe abound. He’s often invited to the same occasions, so he knows the lifestyle. “People come to me when they’re in the mood for happy times,” he said in his Paris atelier. There’s certainly no room for sadness if you’re swathed in a cloud of a dress in weightless chiffon printed in a mint green paisley pattern, or in a billowy silk slip embroidered with exquisite bouquets of wildflowers.
For Valli, “nonchalance is terribly chic.” He believes that young generations today are attracted to ease and excellence, “they don’t want to be billboards parading logos around.” Instead, they favor finesse and a spontaneous way of dressing up unconcerned by seasons or occasions. And for him, the word luxury should be banned from the dictionary. What he thinks is meaningful is rather how society is opening up to the power of self-expession. “When I cut a dress,” he said, “I leave a sort of free space within it, that allows the personality of the wearer to inhabit it and to make it her own.”
The collection conveyed a breezy feel with a touch of the whimsical, highlighted by a variety of delightful botanical motifs in fresh colors printed on light, feminine fabrications. There were plenty of zesty options for Valli’s nomadic spirits—short and form-fitting or long and flowing. What tied it all together was the grace with which the designer inbued his creations. He said, “the weight of lightness, that’s the feel I wanted to convey.”
