Paris Haute Couture Fashion Week AW 2011/12: Giambattista Valli

The second highly expected show during the first day of the Paris Haute Couture Fashion Week was Giambattista Valli's collection. Although playing and experimenting towards haute couture in the past, the designer never had the honor to present an haute couture collection on the Paris runways until now. Everybody had high hopes for this first haute couture collection and besides the top fashion editors, he also counted amongst the front-row guests icons such as Olivia Palermo or Margherita Missoni. The show was a clear success and it was acclaimed by the press and fashion magazines worldwide.

I really liked the freshness of the collection and the coherent story line, as you might have guessed after yesterday's post on the Dior show. Bold colors inserted occasionally amongst neutral or black and white hues to invigorate the atmosphere, clean cut shapes, intricate embroideries and beading, the use of fur and feathers all leading to the grand finale with dramatic floor-length frilled tulle gowns. Also the appearance of the black veiled silhouette was an interesting touch of mystery towards the end of the show. As you can see the collection has a lot going on, but everything relates to each other and the flow of ideas is very natural. What I also like, is that the hair is slicked back and fit into place with elegant headbands and that the makeup is neutral, thus not distracting the audience - the attention is on the garments at all times.

I count amongt my favorite pieces the long red gown in the photo above, the draping on the white one-shoulder dress, the pink feathered dress worn by the amazing Sasha Pivovarova, the black garments or the light-colored long flowy dress paired with a lot of amazing jewelry. The really extraordinary element uniting the different outfits is in my opinion the jewelry - the golden belts, necklaces and bracelets. I was blown away by every single piece! You can see the high degree of workmanship that went into them and into the whole collection.

Here is my selection of looks from the runway. Which one do you like best?

Photos: Vogue.fr