Rome: the metaphoric Eternal City, a metropolis that welcomes and contemplates all, a locus amoenus of excess and privation, the magical melting pot of the pacific coexistence of extremes and cultures in the name of luminous and progressive syncretism. Rome: the stage of modernity, ab antiquo. Rome: a value and a context. Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pierpaolo Piccioli bring Valentino Haute Couture to the place they love, where everything begins and has meaning. Through a total event generated by a scattering of invisible spores of creativity and palpable suggestions, of which the fashion show is the consequence, they show the public – through their eyes – what triggers the primeval spark and inspiration later transformed into an object that can be seen, touched, and worn. It is a magical and mysterious journey exploring a Rome full of wonders that are unknown to most: mysterious, pagan and ecclesiastic, sensuous and rigorous, dark and seductive. A city that does not contemplate flattery, revealed through glimpses and illuminations in a surprising interpretation.

The austere, sleek set designed by artist Pietro Ruffo is a modern interpretation of the Roman Forum. This is the stage for a collection with solemn, magical mystery: profound, decadent and moving. The haughty, vertical silhouette is a recurrent and unifying element, crossing time to suggest imaginative blends of classic draping and cassock-like linearity, togas and capes. The Roman essence is expressed through the quality of the sleek, vibrant lines and surfaces with remarkable multisensory vitality: textures like marble or mosaic intarsia and embellishment and symbolism that update complex iconography – ears of wheat and pomegranates, as well as other fantastic symbols – that is an integral part of the city’s visual horizon. Sumptuous brocades and luxurious trim form regal profiles. Long dresses clothe ladies with dark and fragile poetry. Coats and capes with martial austerity tell adventurous tales. Opulent embellishments have an opacity that represents condensed time. Embroidery with metallic thread adorns impalpable and virginal apparel. Alessandro Gaggio’s fragment-jewelry adds traces of the past to the look. The dense and mysterious palette captures the nocturnal soul of the collection: shades of dark green, deep orange, pagan red and black are treated with absolute levitas.

Rome: a perspective and an aesthetic horizon, the bearer of a harmonious message in the name of the everlasting and never waning value of beauty.

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