There might be no such thing as perfection, but in Pierpaolo Piccioli’s world, the quest for flawlessness reveals imperfections that shape who we are — and that is the very notion that drives the Valentino Spring/Summer 2024 collection.
Fragility, anxiety and certainty. These are words one would use on an award-winning film they just saw, a painting that had been stuck on a wall for centuries, or a collection of short stories on a paperback everyone on Instagram swears by, but not on clothes. Yet, it was all anyone could ever think about at the Valentino Menswear Spring/Summer 2024 show.
Opening Fashion Week has always been the ultimate statement, and in true Pierpaolo Piccioli fashion, Valentino has always been given a chance to set the mood, even during the womenswear seasons, by being one of the first presentations. This menswear season sees no less of that affirmation — however, the mood was particularly special. For the first time in three years since the global pandemic, Piccioli has chosen to put together a standalone show for its men’s collection that will open the major shows for Milan Fashion Week. That meant, instead of its co-ed editions that utilised the women’s collections to shape its menswear offerings, the creative director had the opportunity to put together a singular narrative for Valentino Spring/Summer 2024. With this unique occasion, he does it the way he does best — by looking into epic narrations of masculinity.
But what might that be? In the three years since his last menswear show, the world has reconsidered what masculinity might look like if it was not bothered by stereotypes. TikTok became somewhat of a rule book for European dressing, with men adopting a more fluid sense of style since the days of the pandemic. It meant fashion became recognised as an integral feature of men’s personalities, in addition to the rise of ‘soft boys’ — a descriptor for a small percentage of men who openly embrace their emotions — never being more on trend now since Tumblr became a relic of the past. In other words, there is money to be made about men being fragile and are fashionable at the same time.
That would lead to the collection’s notions of finding perfection and the beauty in its struggles. Unfortunately, the idea that something could ever be flawless is flawed in every way imaginable and a matter of perspective. Piccioli funnels that idea from A Little Life by Japanese author Hanya Yanagihara, a book so integral to the collection’s thesis that copies of it became part of the invitation. Eventually, as we would come to realise, quotes printed on clothes and bags negotiates between philosophy and wearability.
“…things get broken and sometimes they get repaired. And in most cases, you realize that no matter what gets damaged, life rearranges itself to compensate for your loss, sometimes wonderfully,” as it is read in the show notes.
Thus the collection is made up of all these principles that embody beauty in imperfection. You see it in the flower emblems taking charge. A flower, after all, blooms in awe but withers and snaps when not tended to with care — which could not have been a better metaphor. Then there were the relaxed silhouettes topped off with Haute Couture magic — hand-sewn and assembled only by embroidered flowers — which offers an unprecedented fantasy to fashion fluidity. And to do it all, where Valentino Garavani first staged his menswear show in 1985 at the courtyards of Statale di Milano highlights the days when even at its most philosophical stages, the fashion presented was once again all about emotion.
After all, what is fashion if not an afterthought of the way we live? For creative director Pierpaolo Piccioli, it was these contemplative reflections that helped open a triumphant season in Milan. The creative director’s work has never once allowed any commercial pursuits to triumph over the narrative at his shows. Each time, his “emotional” clothes take charge of what happens at Valentino — think the liquid gold fabrics for Spring 2022 or the enormous amounts of pink for Fall/Winter 2022 (which also broke the internet). In each piece of his work, no matter how simple it may seem, there will always be a narrative hidden between the seams at his atelier, and this menswear season sees it all.
Once you’re done with this story on the Valentino Spring/Summer 2024 show, click here to catch up with our June/July 2023 issue.
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