Valentino The Last Emperor is a poignant and touching exploration of the last few years of Valentino Garavani’s career. The film delves especially deep into the relationship between Valentino and his business and personal partner of many years, Giancarlo Giammetti. The documentary was superbly edited and unexpectedly hilarious. It provided an insider’s look at both the design process and the personal life of the man at the helm of Valentino SpA. The night I viewed the film at Film Form in New York City, the Q&A with the director Matt Tryauno was conducted by Andre Leon Tally who showed up just in time, after a slight delay on the FDR, wearing a bedazzled “Obama” skull cap and “the New America” across the back of his jacket- an added bonus to an already entertaining screening. Tally makes a few dramatic cameos in the course of the film.
The film posits the idea that haute couture is dying. As a young art student in the early 2000s, I always wondered what place fashion would hold within the realms of art institutions. I thought that haute couture- fashion for art’s sake- held the key to that equation. In the last several years many prestigious Art museums such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the V & A in London have launched major fashion exhibitions. Some were successful and widely acclaimed, and some like the Met’s Channel retrospective fell flat.
In a world where handbags and sunglasses bring in the big bucks and the couture on a runway is more of a marketing scheme- serving as a brand identifier, sadly it seems fashion will move in a different direction now. This new direction has already brought fashion to the masses with some very interesting juxtapositions of Comme des Garcons and Karl Lagerfeld with H&M and soon to come, Jill Stuart for Uniqlo. But with Yves Saint Laurent’s passing, Valentino’s retirement, and Karl Lagerfield designing for Channel instead of for his own label, it truly does seem that the era of the couturier is dead.
It often is the case that the ideals in a society change rapidly and that one must change with the tides or get carried away with the waves. The future of haute couture is yet to be determined but it will be interesting to see what happens. In the words of Valentino “après moi, le deluge.”
-Lyndsay Skeegan
Valentino, the Last Emperor is now playing: click here: http://www.valentinomovie.com/#theatre to find a theatre new you.
2 months ago
DOMENICO VACCA
Domenico Vacca was one of a slew of designers that took comfort in styles reminiscent of the 1980s. Many fully sequined dresses were extremely evocative of the era, especially when topped by an illusion neckline in addition to a structured tulle underskirt. Vacca displayed several brown dresses embellished with leather flower appliqués followed by short dresses and low slung shirts hemmed in layers of stone or crystal. These were all in an attempt to illustrate his inspiration- New York City: the park, the buildings, and the avenues. One may have wished that the inspiration not have been so literal, but the clothes were obviously well tailored and the collection was cohesive- and who doesn’t appreciate a tipping of the hat to New York?
3 months ago
The dresses were sexy: form fitting and short, many with keyhole necklines to add to the abundance of skin. The majority of the gowns had a dropped waist often embellished with stone detailing or sequined flowers. Menswear was classic and preppy with a touch of modernity. All in all, it was a quintessential fall collection, containing everything a fall collection should: long sleeved dresses, pant options, cocktail dresses, gowns, interesting coats and sparkly party dresses for the holidays. Vacca’s Hollywood clientele should enjoy his ready to wear collection as much as they do his couture.
3 months ago
