Remember the best moments of the Piccioli Era
The fashion world was shocked this morning upon learning that Pierpaolo Piccioli is leaving Maison Valentino after 25 years of service.
Piccioli’s journey with Valentino began in 1999, when he was selected by Valentino Garavani himself to enhance the label’s accessories category alongside other designers. Alongside Maria Grazia Chiuri, he assumed the role of creative director for accessories in 2007. In 2008, they were appointed as creative directors of the brand.
In 2016, Pierpaolo Piccioli was named the sole creative director of Valentino. His debut collection in this capacity was unveiled later that year, during the Spring-Summer 2017 ready-to-wear season.
The Piccioli era at Valentino is unforgettable. From the Pink PP collections to Le Noir, Le Salon, L’École, Unboxing, Black Tie, and more, we witnessed volume, colors, inclusivity, diversity, craftsmanship, and above all – creativity, all while honoring Garavani’s legacy and emphasizing the brand’s haute couture.
The most memorable moments of Piccioli’s tenure as Valentino’s creative director include both ready-to-wear and couture collections.
We cannot begin discussing the top fashion shows of Piccioli’s era without mentioning Pink PP, the Fall-Winter 2022/2023 ready-to-wear collection. Pink dominates the scene, bringing an unconventional charm that challenges realism. Bold shapes and sculpted lines convey sensuality and elegance, while intricate details and striking silhouettes, immersed in this captivating color, blur the boundaries between fashion and art. Piccioli’s embrace of pink signifies a profound expression of humanity, celebrating uniqueness and evoking a spectrum of emotions. In collaboration with the Pantone Color Institute to create a bespoke shade, Valentino’s pink becomes a symbol of distinctive identity, embodying Piccioli’s visionary approach to design.
Rome is the place where everything starts: life, people, our stories, and identities are all here. We belong to this place as much as this place belongs to the world and to Valentino,” said the designer. This is why he chose the Italian capital to present the Fall-Winter 2022/2023 haute couture collection. Set in Piazza di Spagna, the runway showcased Valentino’s history, which is why it was named ‘The Beginning.
Inspired by Constantin Brancusi’s philosophy that ‘Simplicity is complexity resolved,’ Pierpaolo Piccioli, creative director of Valentino, sums up the maison’s Fall-Winter 2023 haute couture collection. Presented at the Château de Chantilly in France, the Italian house showcased its collection in an enormous runway in the castle’s garden, where models strutted the brand’s Fall-Winter 2023 pieces.
The first look made a statement by bringing a classic yet unexpected touch to haute couture: a white shirt and jeans. Neutral colors dominated the runway, including black, white, blue, beige, brown, and gray, with metallic accents also making an appearance. Despite the prevalence of neutrals, Valentino’s signature reds and pinks, as well as florals and feathers, were not overlooked.
Valentino’s spring-summer 2024 ready-to-wear collection is the last spring-summer designed by Pierpaolo Piccioli. Named L’École, “serves to highlight the body, in a celebration of femininity and humanity. A reflection of an ideology, an expression of intimacy and individuality, the result conveys a fundamentally feminist aim – independence of the body from the male gaze or societal expectation, an agency. […] Eschewing notions of sexuality and exploding clichés of glamour, the collection explores a personal sensuality, a vital interrelationship of cloth and body” say the brand notes.
Le Noir is the last Pierpaolo collection for Valentino. Presented during the fall/winter 2024 ready-to-wear season at Paris Fashion Week, there were 63 all-black looks on the runway inspired on a Deborah Turbeville 1977’s photoshoot where models were wearing lacy gowns.
There is not yet a successor defined to take over the creative director’s chair at Valentino. Names like Alessandro Michele (recently departed from Gucci) and Maria Grazia Chiuri (currently at Dior) are among the expected contenders.