Giambattista Valli creates expensive clothes for an elite roster of names including Lee Radziwill, Margherita Missoni and Bianca Brandolini, all of whom were in attendance at Valli's autumn winter 2012 show at Paris Fashion Week.
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Valli tends to design big couture numbers under the guise of ready-to-wear, the couture calendar being of upmost importance to this new recruit to its schedule. Yet here we saw a much more stripped-back collection of - whisper it - daywear.
A geometric and zig-zag print of a orange, brown and white T-shirt tunic and cigarette pants was razor-sharp in its simplicity. So too was the overblown check coat, chopped below the elbow and entirely detail free save for the print. When evening wear came it was more relaxed than the ballgowns of previous seasons. Drop-waists and pleat skirts spoke of richness without needing to shout.
