Paris Haute Couture: Valentino autumn/winter 2012

Valentino brought the shows to a close yesterday with a lesson in minimalism and craftmanship, the couture way.

BY Lisa Armstrong | 05 July 2012

Photo: Getty

It's not too fanciful to suggest that couture's new delicate touch began with Valentino's regime change four years ago. Yes, before Armani eased up for his Privé collection this season, before even the sainted Raf Simons introduced restraint and reality to Dior with his first show since he was appointed as John Galliano's successor (to the most rapturous reviews since Jesus walked on water), Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pierpaolo Piccioli were rustling up big statements out of thin air - or at least out of whisper-weight clouds of chiffon and lace that seemed filled with air.

IN PICTURES: Valentino Haute Couture autumn/winter 2012

Talk about a light hand on the tiller. Ever since they were put in charge at Valentino in 2008, the duo has produced a master class in understated craftsmanship each season. And it just gets more assured with every collection. It's all the more remarkable for being the product of two minds with distinct creative outlooks. Staying true to the essence of these old brands while moving them forward isn't easy.

READ: NYC Ballet to celebrate Valentino

Who would have looked to Valentino, whose die hard customers once numbered Joan Collins and most of Texas's social xx-rays, for minimalism? Yet minimalism is what Grazia Chiuri and Piccioli achieved yesterday, and without betraying an ounce of Valentino's sweet femininity. The core inspiration, appropriately enough, was Madonna blue - not the Madonna who flips a nipple at Turkey. The other one, who is probably the proto feminine minimalist. Midnight blue silk chiffon, round-necked dresses with softly pleated skirts or panels of sheer Chantilly lace floated past, followed by fuller - but never stiffer - satin dresses that might have looked severe in other hands, but here looked demure and elegant. Having made their point - they can do plain proud - they moved into embellishment: Powder puff-pink embroidered satin coats or capes over ruffled chiffon columns, lemon-yellow brocaded trouser suits and square-toed ballerinas with low heels were unashamedly lovely, with no need to resort to the constricting boning and exaggerated construction that had been couture's hallmark for the past ten years or more.

So now that they've re-invented eveningwear, pulling it back from the plunge-fronted, crystal-infested clichés of the red-carpet, we just need them to tackle daywear.

Paris Haute Couture autumn/winter 2012: 20 dresses to die for

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Paris Haute Couture: Armani Prive autumn/winter 2012

The latest lesson taught in Paris by Giorgio Armani is that every woman should probably have a pair of Armani wide trousers in her wardrobe, writes Lisa Armstrong.

BY Lisa Armstrong | 04 July 2012

Photo: GETTY

Giorgio Armani was in a poetic mood when he whisked up this Armani Privé collection. Set against a sunset backdrop, it oozed the sort of colour effects you might see if you squint your eyes at the outer spectrum of the sun just as it dips into the sea - or when you order from the cocktail menu during happy hour.

Pale rosebud pinks, softest baby blue and ombre vanilla and grey raw silks were spun into collarless jackets, slender fitted strapless dresses, worn over matching organza blouses, or tailored, round necked jumpsuits.

IN PICTURES: See the Armani Privé collection

It could have been overly saccharine and at times sugar levels did indeed soar to near diabetic levels, but three key elements brought things back from the brink. First those trousers - no one cuts an Armani pant like, well, Armani. Wide, pleated and fluid as the Coalition government's every last policy, they're every bit as elegant as a little black dress, and never more so than in the black velvet he sent out with a majority of looks.

Models at the finale of the show. Photo: Getty

It's true that some of the styling at the start of the show, which had the models in knee length collarless artist's coats and blouses with Philip Treacy berets, made them look like distinctly eccentric. But forget them. The lesson here is that every woman should probably have a pair of Armani wide trousers in her wardrobe - or at least every tall woman. Every other woman should probably settle for a slimmer pair and one of those gorgeous, glittery, sporty-meets-red-carpet cardigan-jackets he showed.

The third winner was the evening wear, which is probably what his front row - Shailene Woodley, Sophia Loren, Zoe Saldana, Isabelle Huppert, Claudia Cardinale and Michelle Yeoh - really came to see.

A lightened up sense of ease, amplified with translucent, loosely cut layers made for a cooler, more relaxed vibe than the usual trussed up, over wrought red carpet looks that couture so often winds up giving us.

Less really can be more, and Armani, of all designers, is well placed to lead the way.

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