Valentino is no stranger to bright voluminous gowns, dramatic headwear, and towering heels. But for its latest drop, the Italian maison is heading back to the basics.
I mean, it's rare to catch creative director Pierpaolo Piccioli without his uniform: a black tee, black pants, and black shoes. Oh, and maybe a black hoodie if it's a little chilly.
It should be no surprise that the king of covert staples is releasing a collection of luxe mainstays for the house, naturally and simply titled "Maison Valentino Essentials."
As the name suggests, Maison Valentino Essentials materializes as an offering of roomy jackets, pajama-esque shirts, loose trousers, and oversized jackets.
For Piccioli, Maison Valentino Essentials goes beyond its surface-level appearance as another offering of elevated staples. Instead, it mirrors the times — a "selection and reflection", as Piccioli calls it, down to the AI-generated campaign shown below.
There's undoubtedly been a shift in womenswear and menswear in the past few years. Given the global pandemic and society's all-embracing norms, brands began introducing more co-ed shows, unisex lines, and diversified rosters featuring non-identifying models.
In short, the new rules are there are no rules. Do you and wear what you want!
"With Maison Valentino Essentials, I want to bring together the items like a pajama, tailoring, and something from couture," Piccioli told Highsnobiety. "To me, these spirits that connect give the idea of a man today, which is more about individuality and diversity — not rules, roles, social appearance, but a personal expression."
At the core of Maison Valentino Essentials is a meeting of Valentino's renowned couture, meticulous tailoring, streetwear elements, and practicality.
Tailoring adds fluidity to garments rather than molding them to body — design codes which Piccioli believes adds a new sense of expression and attitude to the pieces.
For the color palette — yep, black is in there — Piccioli makes a point to include the famed Valentino Pink PP shade, a "couture color" which assists in bestowing a "new meaning" to the collection's garments.
"The idea of Maison Valentino Essentials is an idea of a core that can be explored and exploded in different ways and through different looks and silhouettes," Piccioli said.
"That's why I wanted to use pink in the collection because it's a color that had the most different perception and meanings during the centuries."
The Maison Valentino Essentials collection encapsulates the core of wardrobe basics — versatility, understatement, and, most importantly, timelessness (it's the qualities that makes them bangers). Indeed, don't expect any VLogomania this go-around.
Through its forthcoming drop — approved by BTS' resident Valentino fan Suga, releasing in-store at Maxfield starting January 12, and dropping on Valentino's website in February — informs a new era for the Valentino muse — with the wardrobe to match.
"We cannot be only street, only couture, only tailoring because that doesn't give a picture of this moment to me. To me, the moment is the melting of those things,' Piccioli continued. "Maison Valentino Essentials is important because it's a new way of thinking of men's wardrobe and, thus, the people's wardrobe."