Valli Couture

Giambattista Valli is no longer a guest member on the Couture calendar. The Paris-based designer, who made his debut on the Couture runways for the first time last season, was granted the official haute couture appellation early (typically designers have to wait five years to be eligible) by French fashion’s governing body, the Chambre Syndicale.

Of the decision, Chambre Syndicale president Didier Grumbach tells WWD, “It was clear from his show [in July] that he has caught the attention of a new generation of customers, and he immediately took important orders for his couture,” he says. “So it’s true that the haute couture appellation gives him legitimacy, but objectively speaking, he is already part of the system.”