DESIGNER DETAIL : MAISON VALENTINO SPRING 2015
Posted on by Cameron Tewson
I often walk about each city I visit and view collections that Boutiques and Department stores stock and I came across this Valentino Spring 2015 floor length down with incredible attention to detail at Selfridges in London. For those who don’t know the Valentino collections are designed by, Creative directors Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pierpaolo Piccioli and this season they were all about capturing the beauty of Italy, from its kitschy souvenir shops to its rich Mediterranean shores. The House of Valentino’s Spring Summer 2015 collection uses its iconic textures, fabrics and prints to showcase the Grand Tour.
Drawing from travel throughout Italy, the collection recalls a time of Roman summers and Venetian tours of the 18th century. Designers Chiuri and Piccioli have churned out season after season of successful collections and this lineup was no different. Mixing bohemian prints and forms with romantic silhouettes and rich spring tones, the collection was a reflection of Italy, the inspiration for many of their collections.
The latter half of the runway gave special attention to the oceanic elements of the Grand Tour, the designers filling the collection with prints of sea creatures: kelp, starfish, seashells, coral, seahorses, blowfish and jellyfish flittered across clothing and accessories. Dresses were layered in hundreds of pieces to resemble scales, printed with a sheer overlay or embellished with thousands of tiny feathers and seed beads. The heroes of the collection were those in the final lineup, a set of floor-length gowns done in silk, tulle, beading and sequins that captured the true magic and beauty of Italian design.
