An upbeat Giambattista Valli (sans his pearls) took a break from couture fittings to speak to Vogue Runway via Zoom about his pre-fall collection, and to ruminate on the state of the industry. The designer, who is holding on to a new-year mindset, is loath to have to categorize his work, whether that means designating a type of dress or the milieu in which he works. That said, Valli is careful with his words.
Believing the luxury concept has been sullied, the designer is firmly focused on the idea of excellence, which he pronounces lavishly in the protracted French way. “Excellence, it’s something [other than luxury],” he explained. “It’s really the ultimate, exquisite way to make, think, or to realize .
. . the dream that you have and that has to be a hundred percent honest to the final customer.
.. I think it’s very important to give value with the price.
” He put this idea into practice with a collection in which the expected Valli prettiness (florals, embroidery, tulle, draped jersey) is tempered with a slightly—for him—harder edge. It’s a ground-up approach that has some models in Mod-ish loafers with platform soles and metallic bows rather than the pennies that he used for fall 2020 . (The same bows are used on high heels.
) The loafers looked just right with the rah-rah skirts shown with a bra top or chunky sweater, and the neat geometric looks that are very early ’60s Lee Radziwill, but with an unexpected lightness. “There is this very quiet boy-m.