Piazza di Spagna, or the Spanish Steps, and its famous stairway, just a few feets from Piazza Mignanelli, where Valentino’s headquarters are located, which for decades have hosted the greatest Italian fashion shows are once again hosting one of the most beautiful Haute Couture Fall/Winter 2022 shows to be found in the history of contemporary fashion.
‘’The Beginning’’, the name of the collection, as Pierpaolo Piccioli explained, is “an ideal conversation with the lexicon of the house”. “Everything begins where it always begins: in the workshop in Rome, the place where creations and inventions come to life through the hands and stories of those who make the clothes, those who imprint their character through their work. In essence, nothing has changed. Even the address hasn’t changed. Yet everything has changed”.
In an imaginary conversation with the codes and era – without necessarily any traces of nostalgia – of Mr. Valentino, with whom he worked, Pierpaolo Piccioli conceives this event as a celebration of beauty that is both timeless and able to resonate deeply with our times. As the models made their way down the 174 steps of the monumental stairway, his message of inclusivity – he invited 40 black models, of different ethnicities, ages and sizes, as well as men to walk in the show – and his celebration of beauty were clearly embodied.
“For me, more than ever, beauty is power“, Piccioli added. “I don’t want to reflect the ugliness of a world where democracy is denied”.
©Valentino
