Valentino

PARIS, October 3, 2007
By Sarah Mower
Last-chance alert: If you've ever harbored any vague fantasy about owning a Valentino, act now, or kick yourself forever. The designer's final ready-to-wear show before handing over the keys to his house was always going to be a souvenir-hunter's prime opportunity, but far better than that, it turned out to be one of his most appealingly modern collections in quite a while. Crisply puncturing the potential for a predictable end-of-era wallow in sentiment, Valentino played it as an upbeat, fast-paced whirl of breezy, pretty, drop-dead gorgeousness that blew any lingering sense of ladylike stuffiness to the winds.

If there's a problem, it's only being spoiled for choice. What to pick from the head-spinning plethora of dresses on offer? It could be something from the brief, sugar-pink group that opened the show. A short, one-sleeved shift, perhaps. Or maybe it should be something with Val's signature ruche-and-drape going on? For anyone with a curve and a penchant for the eighteenth-century milkmaid vibe, it would have to be the dress in dusty eau-de-nil chiffon with the flirtatious décolleté and swirly skirt. How about a Val bow? You'd find them on a taffeta-spotted sleeve, or sexily implanted along the spine of a slim ivory gown. One of his georgette flower prints? That little sheath with a garland of 3-D petals in the hem and neckline. Still, at a time like this, why not go for broke? When it comes to the ultimate evening hour, it's down to the final two in the goddess category: the vibrant Valentino red, or the amazing black column with a flip of silver tied at the shoulder. Oh, sweet agony.

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