VALENTINO MEN’S COLLECTION FALL/WINTER 2012-13 – PITTI IMMAGINE UOMO

The Valentino maison returns to Florence where the story began in 1962. A fine thread links past and present, the Sala Bianca and Palazzo Corsini: a tribute to men’s Couture becomes an opportunity to look to the future, aware of a glorious tradition.
The style is sleek and timeless. Inovation is inspired by the past, and authenticity is a value. Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pierpaolo Piccioli compose the pieces of an iconographic sartorial collection that. establishes contemporary masculinity without confining it within a formula.
The rigorous aesthetic comes from the technique: from cuts, construction, and a savoir faire that is constantly updated. It focuses on details and particular aspects that may not be seen a first glance. Subtleness is the salient trait of the Valentino man and his understand, unconscious elegance.
A modernist mood – in pursuit of clarity and simplicity – permeates the Fall/Winter 2012-13 collection. The silhouette is sharp. The process of concise editing is translated into a modular wardrobe: archetypal garments that are in the eyes and DNA of men, from the suit to the loden coat, are restyled by rebelliously toying with the rules of apparent normalcy. The loud-mouthed culture is replaced by whispers: true luxury today is talking the people who chosen to listen.
Architectural shapes, with affirmative aplomb, are achieved through subtraction weight and anything unnecessary are eliminated. Couture and sportswear techniques are combined to create a news stylistic languages that is sartorial and dynamic. The construction are combined to create a news stylistic language that is the sartorial and dynamic. The construction can be seen underneath the fabric: The compact line of jackets is obtained through fabric bonded the horsehair facings, not to the lining. Heat-bonded tape replaces seams on shirts. Slim-fit darted trousers have a razor pleat and are ankle-lenght. Outerwear has a sleek, pure line: fitted peacoats have a small shoulders and the carcoat has more volume at the back. The color of cashmere sweaters with a jersey base underlines the sum of the parts and creates impalpable volumes. Back collars and details on the deep blue tuxedo create unusual embellishments that quickly bring to mind the hedonistic nightlife of Rome in the sixties.
A subtle sense of surprise runs through the collection with two-tones ties, constructivist prints, and unusual combinations.
Materials are precious and compact felt, wool/silk barathea, wool and nylon blends, dry cotton, Japanese denim, and leather. The color palette suggest urban camouflage: masculine gray nuances – from stone gray to metal – and virile shades of blue are interrupted by offbeat splashes of red-black, forest green and beige.
The search for soft precision continues in accessories: leather clutches and totes, sleek Oxford shoes, and enameled metal sunglasses.
The collection’s visione of precise style express subtly subversive elegance that is sophisticated yet free of frills and with a sartorial couture approach, because refreshingly light simplicity is always invisible to the eye but clearly makes the difference.