“I’ve named this collection Very Valli because, in a time of global uncertainty—politics, the economy, the climate—I felt the need to turn inward, seeking clarity within myself,” said Giambattista Valli before today’s show. His mood board featured quotes he penned, a sort of manifesto of his guiding principles: “The weight of lightness,” “The past is for culture, not for nostalgia,” “A look is a silent statement,” “Age is a mental posture.”
How can fashion help alleviate the world’s current distress? Valli said that this question weighs on him daily. “We are privileged to do what we do,” he said. “Our responsibility is to remain grounded in reality while also conveying a sense of beauty and lightness. Although it may seem oxymoronic to say that lightness has a weight, these two opposing concepts need each other. Reality and dream, depth and levity.”
The collection read as a conversation between those conflicting energies. Slender silhouettes played against billowing forms; short hemlines alternated with ankle-grazing lengths, and flat ballerinas coexisted alongside stilettos. Valli crafted his signature couture shapes—cocoon-draped dresses, short cocktail pieces with poufed skirts, and ball gowns with undulating trapeze skirts—using poplin, cotton organza, and jersey, keeping them unstructured, light, and dynamic. These same simple fabrics were also turned into the fluttering feathers beneath the ruched peplums of bodices, the rosettes embellishing necklines, and the floral-fringed hems of abbreviated tunics.
For the finale, Valli offered a series of flowy, draped mousseline dresses in fresh sherbet hues; they looked flattering, vital, and individual. “The women I design for aren’t paradoxes or clones but personalities with independent minds and distinct tastes, engaged in today’s reality,” he said. “They don’t need fictitious narratives, nor to be the parody of someone else. I feel privileged to be at their service.”
