Giambattista Valli is well known for his elegant and chic demi-couture creations characterised by beautiful and rich details, refined embroidered motifs and romantic and feminine lines. It’s easy to understand why his designs are definitely on the most-coveted list of many young and wealthy women around the world. Apparently, when he was still a child, Valli’s imagination was piqued by images of Claudia Cardinale in Luchino Visconti’s The Leopard, Marilyn Monroe singing “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend” in Howard Hawks’ Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and Rita Hayworth in Rouben Maumolian’s Blood and Sand, images that, once he grew up, he mixed with his love for art, drawings and sculptures creating the perfect recipe for his designs.
The designer’s Spring/Summer 09 collection is a wonderful example of Valli’s clever mix of demi-couture elements and art, with ‘50s dresses with stiff skirts and tulle petticoats, dreamy evening gowns with cascades of ruffles and rosettes, prints of peeling walls and ortensia petals on silk and organza dresses. Valli was inspired in this collection by De Chirico’s art, the Venus de Milo and Canova’s Cupid and Psyche statue. These influences translated not only into the main colours of the collection but also in their sculpted lines, big bows, voluminous necklines and rigid cocooning shoulder-pieces. These features recently appeared also on Valli’s designs for Moncler’s “Gamme Rouge”.
Founded in 1952, high performance wear brand Moncler had its annus mirabilis in 1968 when it became known all over the world for designing the official Grenoble Olympic Winter Games uniform for the Swiss team. Moncler jackets were rather popular in Italy in the ‘80s, especially with young people belonging to the rich bourgeoisie – nicknamed ‘Paninari’ (they inspired the Pet Shop Boys’ hit "Paninaro") – who used to hang around fast food restaurants.
As time passed, Moncler jackets became less popular with many fashionistas looking for equally warm winter outerwear that didn’t give the body that undesired Bibendum-like effect. After a few years spent experimenting with shiny textures and lighter padding, Moncler re-entered a more fashionable universe with the “Gamme Rouge”, a line that – inspired by the successful collaboration between Moncler and Balenciaga and between the sportswear company and Junya Watanabe – was at first designed by Alessandra Facchinetti.
Acclaimed by fashionistas, the “Gamme Rouge” winter line also generated a Spring/Summer collection including lighter jackets and outerwear garments. The new "Gamme Rouge" designer, Giambattista Valli, has brought to the line all his talent and style. For the Autumn/Winter 2008-09 season Valli played with exuberant and imaginative styles creating jackets with enormous sleeves ballooning from the shoulders (check out the “Rouge Reine” model), featuring prominent funnel collar (“Le Camée”), inspired by the silhouettes of costumes from the mid-to-late 16th century (“Au Chalet”) or delicately dyed in fading colours (“Le Boudoir”).
Valli applied his demi-couture trademark designs also to the “Gamme Rouge” S/S 09 collection that was presented during Paris Fashion Week at the Romanian Embassy. The powdery colours of the jackets echoed Canova’s marble statues while the influence of art and history was clear in the sculpted cropped jackets with pleated or puffed up sleeves and multiple collars.
The details – beadings on cocooning capes, delicate layers of organza and embedded motifs on the finest jacquard – were refined and unique, the materials rich and elegant, yet preserving a certain purity of lines and forms. Valli’s "Gamme Rouge" wouldn’t certainly look out of place on the set of a historical film or in an art book, but the designer’s merit stands in having fused elegance with high performance garments, creating a sort of demi-sportswear.
Both Facchinetti and Valli managed to inject new life into the Moncler brand. The only problem is that the prices of the "Gamme Rouge" collections risk of turning them into an exclusive privilege of the rich upper classes. Valli might have transformed boring winter jackets into sensual creations, but Moncler’s next and most difficult step is to make them affordable.
All images of Gamme Rouge S/S 09 by Giambattista Valli courtesy of Angelo Sensini Communication.
Member of the Boxxet Network of Blogs, Videos and Photos
http://www.boxxet.com/my/badgeBN.80.15.js?boxxetId=u23036
Member of the Boxxet Network of Blogs, Videos and Photos
http://www.boxxet.com/my/badgeBN.160.30.js?boxxetId=u23036
Rispondi