Valli Girls
Call Giambattista Valli a designer, and his legion of loyal admirers (“Valli girls”) will be horrified. Giambattista Valli is a couturier. Beneath the decadent fabrics, flawless craftsmanship, and timeless sophistication, Valli’s creations seek to celebrate the female form; a trait that has made his eponymous Maison on par with those of fashion greats like Givenchy, Yves Saint Laurent, and Christian Dior. The difference, however, is that Valli’s vision is still defining itself.
Rizzoli’s homage to the designer, titled simply Giambattista Valli, achieves something other fashion books do not. While most celebrate a designer’s body of work in its entirety, this book captures Valli’s past, present, and future at a time when the designer could not be more relevant. “His few collections reveal a precise evolution in style, a growing desire to craft a reality out of dreams, fantasies, and pleasure: to revel in free creation,” says Vogue Italia‘s Franca Sozzani.
Though Valli designs and shows his collections in Paris, he has never lost touch with where he came from. “I’m proud of my origins, proud to be Italian—or rather, Roman,” he tells acclaimed fashion writer Angelo Flaccavento, who wrote the revealing profile on Valli for the book. Flaccavento’s words can be found alongside contributions from Francesco Clemente, Diane Kruger, and Sozzani. The book also grants an intimate look at Valli’s design process, offering a greater understanding of how he has achieved so much since he launched his house in 2005.
Like Valli’s designs themselves, Rizzoli’s “Giambattista Valli” is neither modern nor classic. It is relevant in its thoughtfulness and stunning realization—a snapshot of one of our most beloved designers through several lenses.
GIAMBATTISTA VALLI IS OUT NOW. FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT THE RIZZOLI WEBSITE.
