“You reduce the excess on the garment to spotlight the attention on the face,” says creative director Pierpaolo Piccioli of the principle behind Valentino’s Resort collection with its neat, slim silhouettes and plenty of surface delight.
The Roman born and raised Piccioli who first joined the house twenty years ago, has the seductive, dolce vita spirit in his DNA. He draws on decades of glamourous jet set dressing that was pioneered by Valentino Garavani back in the 1970s for his high rolling clientele (Sophia Loren, Jackie Kennedy, and Joan Collins amongst) and flips that lexicon into the now. “Fashion kind of happened for me. I wanted to be a film director. I came to fashion through images, not through clothes. And that’s still what I’m most passionate about,” says Piccioli of his cinematic eye.
Today, in a more nuanced global style world, we turn to Valentino for luxurious, distinctive pieces that are multi-tasking and complement our facetted lives. Who desires a cavalcade of valets and luggage when we set off for city breaks and sunny shores? Agreed, we are seeking looks with maximum impact and minimum fuss.
Jenna Ortega in Maison Valentino
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Valentino Resort Two-Piece
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The personal shopping team at Luminaire spotlights these fabulous logo print pieces from the just released Escape collection that has a dedicated pop up at Palazzo Avino, an awe-inspiring cliffside hotel on the Amalfi Coast. There are logos and logos but this sunray burst rainbow will make your smile. Meanwhile, for high summer and beyond cast an eye on the resort collection. The whole decorative effect invites the eye to dance over the body. A little black lace dress with its V neck and scallop hem is the sweetest thing worn over a nude slip and will couple with matching lace over the knee boots when September’s cooler climes blow in. And this is not just ‘pretty lace,’ the decorative motifs are blown up to the max.
For lunch or cocktail hour on the terrazzo, a two piece, feather trimmed pyjama set in the new chain print is made for flamboyant gestures while the Toile Iconographe mini skirt and mid riff bearing top (wear under an oversize shirt) make grown up sense of this season’s brevity. The jumpsuit meanwhile taps straight back into all the fabulous 70s glamour. Your partner? Well not to be matchy, matchy – he is going to really like the batik holiday shirts.
