Valentino
PARIS, October 4, 2006
By Sarah Mower
His label might be just nine months shy of its forty-fifth birthday, but in a season when a buzz about "lightness" is in the air, Valentino proved he holds the franchise on old-school loveliness with as much authority as ever. Remarkably, his spring collection made some of the lifelong themes of his work—delicate dresses, lace, bows, and, of course, the color red—seem quite beautifully relevant at a time when so many edgier upstarts are stabbing around the territory.Exhibits: a little ivory polka-dotted organza dress, with ripples of pristine frill running around the shoulders and throat; and a shapely scarlet strapless goddess gown, dramatically wrapped with an expertly knotted, flow-away georgette drape. Either of these, plunked in the middle of an emerging designer¿s collection, might be deemed trend-hitters, not to mention streets-ahead in terms of accomplishment. There was a reason this thought cropped up amongst the fragile sugar-pink and lavender chiffon, tiny puffed-shoulder sequin jackets, and multitude of prettily placed bow-motifs: The hair had turned modern, rather than lacquered and bouffed. It was just enough of a context change to make another generation stop giggling at the back and pay attention.
Even if hip kids aren¿t about to rush to Valentino right now, this presentation put down a marker for what the label could be in the future. There is no word about succession in this house—Valentino is still enjoying himself far too much—but any aspiring eye out there would do well to study the detail in this collection. Valentino¿s inimitable touch with pleating and ruffles—flat, accordion, tiered, fluttery, crisp, frisée-edged—was a kind of master class in the essence of this brand.
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Spring 2007 Ready-to-Wear
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3.1 Phillip Lim 6267 -
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A.F. Vandevorst ADAM Akris Alberta Ferretti Alessandro Dell'Acqua Alexander McQueen Alexandre Herchcovitch Alice Roi Andrew Gn Anna Molinari Anna Sui Ann Demeulemeester Antonio Berardi Aquascutum -
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Badgley Mischka Balenciaga Balmain Basso & Brooke Behnaz Sarafpour Belstaff Biba Bill Blass Blumarine Bottega Veneta Burberry Prorsum -
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Danielle Scutt Derek Lam Diane von Furstenberg DKNY Donna Karan Doo.Ri Dries Van Noten Dsquared² -
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Elie Saab Emanuel Ungaro Emilio Pucci Emporio Armani Erdem Erin Fetherston Etro -
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Fendi -
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Gareth Pugh Giambattista Valli Gianfranco Ferré Giles Giorgio Armani Givenchy Gucci -
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Hamish Morrow Hermès -
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J. Mendel Jasmine Di Milo Jason Wu Jean Paul Gaultier Jenni Kayne Jeremy Laing Jill Stuart Jil Sander John Galliano Jonathan Saunders Josh Goot Jovovich-Hawk Junya Watanabe -
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Kai Kühne Karen Walker Karl Lagerfeld -
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L.A.M.B. Lanvin La Perla Lela Rose Loewe Louis Vuitton Luca Luca Luella Luisa Beccaria -
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Narciso Rodriguez Nathan Jenden Nicolas Andreas Taralis Noir -
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Oscar de la Renta -
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Paul Smith Peter Jensen Peter Som Phi Pollini Prada Preen Pringle of Scotland Proenza Schouler -
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Rag & Bone Ralph Lauren Richard Chai Love Richard Nicoll Rick Owens Roberto Cavalli Rodarte Roksanda Ilincic Ruffian -
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Sabyasachi Salvatore Ferragamo Sari Gueron Sinha-Stanic Sonia Rykiel Sophia Kokosalaki Stærk Stella McCartney Stephen Burrows -
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Tao Temperley London Thakoon Threeasfour Todd Lynn Toni Maticevski Topshop Unique Tory Burch Trovata TSE Tuleh -
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Undercover United Bamboo -
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Valentino Vena Cava Vera Wang Veronique Branquinho Versace Viktor & Rolf Vivienne Westwood VPL -
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Wunderkind -
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Y & Kei Y-3 Yigal Azrouël Yohji Yamamoto Yves Saint Laurent -
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Zac Posen Zero + Maria Cornejo
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