Paris Men's Fashion Week: the gentle masculinity of Valentino
The artistic director, Pierpaolo Piccioli, explores the purity of blue and the meaning of being a man today.
Blue , traditionally feminine, only became an emblem of masculinity in the last century, with its share of expectations and nuances. For his Valentino Men's autumn-winter 2024 collection, artistic director Pierpaolo Piccioli revisits and releases this colour, echoing the evolution of our perception of men.
"The traditional propositions and requirements of the male wardrobe translate into a new identity. Softness, fluidity, delicacy and grace — a strength found in vulnerability, changing our perception of the definition of masculinity in clothing, of its connotations of power and strength. In a world that has changed, men must change too,” specifies the parade note. We thus discover sensitive silhouettes, with softened cuts, embroidery and ornaments which modify not only the surfaces, but also the identities. The sculptural forms of Valentino 's Altorilievo (high-relief) technique are used to open gaps in clothing—on the shoulders of jackets, they break and subvert a point of emphasis of stereotypical masculinity.
Credits: Valentino/SGP Italia
