On May 11, 2022, Valentino Garavani, the founder of the VALENTINO brand, celebrates his 90th birthday. In his 45 years of fashion design career, he has created a world of high fashion full of romance and sophistication with countless classic designs. from May 11 to June 5, 2022, the Teatro Sociale in Voghera, Italy, held a large-scale retrospective exhibition of Valentino Garavani's works as a tribute to his great achievements in the fashion industry. With VALENTINO's iconic red dress as the main tone, the exhibition opened to the public Valentino Garavani's classic designs from 1960 to 2010, as well as drawings, sketches, newspaper clippings and photos from the design process. From inspirational conception to the birth of a classic, it leads everyone to explore the legendary design career of Valentino Garavani. In addition, VALENTINO also released a "Happy Birthday Mr. V" black hooded sweatshirt, which quoted Valentino Garavani's classic quote: "I love beauty, it's not my fault." (I Love Beauty, It's Not My Fault)

The Romance of the Rose

The relationship between VALENTINO and roses has started from the very beginning of the brand. In 1959, a short red dress embellished with roses, called "Fiesta", used the signature "VALENTINO red" and rose flowers made of crinkled yarn to combine with roses. The combination of the iconic "VALENTINO red" and the rose flowers made of crinkled yarn showed the delicate beauty of the rose and the romance from the inside out, which became a timeless classic in the fashion industry and established his position in the fashion empire.

Since then, the rose has also become the symbol of VALENTINO, constantly being subverted and taking different forms throughout. Pier Paolo Piccioli, the current creative director, is also using the rose as the theme in his CODE TEMPORAL spring/summer 2021 high-fashion collection. Unlike Valentino Garavani's extreme beauty and romance, Pier Paolo Piccioli's roses, which bloom in a world full of thorns, carry a haunting beauty. A cashmere coat made of 250 "roses", each flower hand-stitched by the craftsman. This is not only the inheritance of Valentino Garavani's romantic spirit, but also demonstrates the purest artisanal spirit in VALENTINO's Haute Couture collection. The same interpretation of "rose", but the difference between the two can be clearly seen. Valentino Garavani's design carries the sense of rules and order unique to that era, while the current VALENTINO also carries the freedom and liberty in addition to romance.

The "red"

In Valentino Garavani's era, there is a color deeply implanted in VALENTINO's genes, and that is "red". Valentino Garavani's obsession and obsession with red came from a woman wearing a red velvet dress, and this fond memory has become the origin of "VALENTINO red". The red color is a blend of 100% magenta, 100% yellow and 10% black under the CMYK system. This bold and leaping color became the "stunning" existence of that era. It was the representative color of VALENTINO and swept the fashion world. In Valentino Garavani's opinion, this bright but not vulgar, strong but noble color should be one of the most classic shades, alongside black and white.

This "red" is the testimony of important moments of VALENTINO, and Valentino Garavani will make a new interpretation in each collection. In 2008, Valentino Garavani, who was preparing to celebrate his 45th anniversary and planning his retirement, released a documentary: "Valentino: The Last Emperor". On the cover, six models wearing classic red VALENTINO dresses stood together with Valentino Garavani, the whole picture was cold and intense. And then, in the curtain call of spring/summer 2008 high fashion, the models came out in the same red dresses, gentle and romantic, warm and sexy, which had to be shocked. Half a century later, "red" can still bring us endless surprises.

Luxurious craftsmanship

Valentino Garavani's application of gorgeous sequins and beaded elements is not only VALENTINO's signature heritage, but also a sought-after place in the fashion industry. Various gorgeous and exquisite fabrics are carefully cut, embroidered and sewn by handicraft craftsmen for hundreds of hours to become highly aesthetic and artistic high-fashion clothing. In 1995, Valentino Garavani's ivory pearl silk wedding dress for the Greek princess Marie Chantal took 25 tailors, four months and 12 different types of lace to complete. The lace gown worn by Madeleine of Sweden, known as "the most beautiful princess in Europe", on her wedding day, also became a classic Valentino Garavani design. The pink gown from the Spring 2006 collection, with thousands of pearls of different sizes pinned to the garment in a staggered manner, required months of work by the craftsmen to complete, which made people want to exclaim the exquisiteness of its craftsmanship. And the taffeta fabric's gorgeous display in the light is the design gene left to VALENTINO by Valentino Garavani. This high quality material knows how to maximize the "light" to become part of the design, gorgeous and noble.

Lightness

Valentino Garavani is a dreamer, and every season he creates a beautiful dream. In Valentino Garavani's high-fashion dresses, light and romantic tulle fabric has a strong presence. In VALENTINO's high-fashion show in 1968, a white carved dress with white tulle and handmade petals, the lightness of the tulle and the delicacy of the flowers showed romance and stunning beauty to the fullest. This expression of female beauty, aesthetic and sexy, once again shocked the fashion world and became the love of women.

Since then, the use of tulle has become part of Valentino Garavani's designs, and the spring 2005 collection, whether in gradient tulle with ivory silk or in dazzling gold to highlight the neutral tones, presents a wonderful dialogue between textured tulle and tailoring. Since El Paolo Piccioli took the helm alone, he has presented a style that not only inherits the essence of Valentino Garavani's designs, but at the same time exudes a new look. The dresses from the GRACE AND LIGHT Fall/Winter 2020 Haute Couture collection are giant gowns up to 6 meters long, using a large number of flowing feathers and tulle to create the silhouette. The moving feathers add a sense of lightness to the dress itself, while the tulle adds a sense of perspective to the dress, and every detail is a reflection of the brand's high-fashion craftsmanship.

Valentino Garavani's mastery and knowledge of fashion craftsmanship places him at the top of the fashion pyramid. This ultimate pursuit of craftsmanship, talent and knowledge of beauty also makes the fashion designed by Valentino Garavani, enough to stand the baptism of time and, precious.

Article Source:艺术与设计

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