Valentino Spring/Summer 2023 Haute Couture: 9 A+ Looks

Cold weather be damned (let me assure you that it is freezing right now in Paris) as models ventured in and out of Valentino’s spring/summer 2023 haute couture runway show—mostly in all manner of skin-baring creations. The parade started off from the outside as though making one’s way into a club and then back out into the open frigid night air.

The cast of characters were probably the most diverse ever in terms of styling that we’ve seen from Valentino. Creative director Pierpaolo Piccioli envisioned the coming together of haute couture with nightclubbing—although two juxtaposed ideas, they made perfect sense within the confines of the space.

The idea was to use couture as the basis of creating individual looks and identities that’s true to how one would want to be perceived as when out in the clubs. And in many ways, that’s the similarity between couture and clubbing. The very foundations of haute couture is to create pieces that fit one’s body, identity and visual tendencies; a couture piece belongs only to one person and one person only. Their style is reflected in the couture piece of choice. The same goes for club kids and how they choose to dress.

While the Valentino spring/summer 2023 haute couture collection may indeed be full of a smorgasbord of ideas and design elements, what tied them all together was a sense of freedom of body. There was no specific way that the body was covered (or not), seemingly leaving it up to the wearer on how to best to showcase their individual personality.

Colours ranged range from vivid brights to dramatic blacks, with every single shade rendered in its richest form—a Valentino by Piccioli signature by now. Silk taffetas made their appearances as bow details as well as voluminous gowns and capes that dragged across the floor with little care. Ruffles were a plenty too, and so were feathered details that elevated eyewear to dramatic extremes.

If we’ve lost the kind of aesthetic diversity that was signature to Alessandro Michele’s Gucci, Piccioli just made the statement that he’ll hold down the fort with his own unique eccentricities.

View the full Valentino spring/summer 2023 haute couture collection in the gallery below.

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