It's Not Yo Momma's Valentino Anymore...

In the course of 7 days Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pier Paolo Picciol have taken the honorable house of Valentino to a place I never thought possible. They started their career 6 seasons ago strictly following the codes of the house. 3 seasons later they slowly moved into a younger and more feminine territory. Then, between January 20th and 27th, the house ran as fast as it could from what Valentino USED to be. 

Valentino PF 2010

It was hard and edgy, and with the eyebrows taken away, it felt like the perfect Givenchy collection. The only problem being, we are not at Givenchy. Valentino used to be the go to man for gorgeous evening gowns that could stand the test of time and fit every woman regardless of age. This Valentino clearly has an age group in mind, 20 to 35, and is very now. As much as I enjoyed it, I'm sure Valentino was turning in his pug filled bed in his chateau outside Paris when he saw this collection. Of course, it's Giancarlo, not Valentino, you have to worry about.

Valentino Haute Couture S/S 2010

Haven't I seen this makeup before? Oh yeah, Balenciaga F/W 2007. At first I hated this collection, and what a travesty it was to the Valentino name. But then, I looked past the outlandish styling and day glow colors, and found many familiar Valentino shapes. Lets take the bottom left for instance; transform the background/runway to white marble, wipe off the makeup and put the hair into a chignon, then change the dress to red, and what do you know, you have Valentino straight from the archives. Some of the draped pieces started to look like Laura and Kate of Rodarte teamed up Maria and Pier, and the new Valentino client keeps getting younger and younger. Of course, there were some things that were love at first sight for me; the ribbon veils. It was so modern and fresh, and made to be on my face 24/7, and if the gods of fashion made them into plexiglass wraparound sunglasses I would do what I need to do in order to get my head in them. Until then, they shall provide inspiration for some party outfit.