Daily Front Row

2012 January 26

Paris Couture: Valentino

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Valentino Couture Spring 2012
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(PARIS) Valentino
Pier Paolo Piccioli and Maria Grazia Chiuri planted the seed for Spring with a budding couture collection patterned with every type of pastel-hued perennial springing up along the French countryside. Surprisingly, the inspiration was not floral fantasies dreamt up in the wee hours of the morn. Rather, it was the realism during the Age of Enlightenment in the 18th century that propelled the design duo to send out a barrage of ultra-femme Jane Austen gowns swathed in layers of demure taffeta and delicate organza. Balancing the antiquity of high-collared silhouettes and voluminous, deep-pocketed skirting? A smattering of elegant warm-weather coats, including a winning ivory coat dress with a raised hemline, and garden party frocks fit for high tea at the Hôtel Salomon de Rothschild.