On Monday night in Paris, Giambattista Valli had a double unveiling: his fall 2023 haute couture collection, as well as the opening of his brand new offices, which are located only a stone’s throw away from the Opéra Garnier.

The guests were spread out among a number of salons, with the chairs hugging the walls and plenty of carpet area left for the extravagant tulle ball dresses that he had designed, which this time were of moderate dimensions.

“We wanted to do the show in the space that is going to be the studio,” he stated backstage. “We’re really excited about it.” “It’s lovely to have that type of closeness, because I believe it’s very much what couture is about, which is the luxury of something private….I believe that, now more than ever, privacy is the greatest kind of luxury.

This clean and confident presentation seemed a little bit like a reset as Valli zeroed in on thin columns sprouting meringue-like volumes; languid chiffon dresses with drifting, smoke-like trains; and magnificent evening confections with bulbous skirts, including one in crystal-studded lace.

Valli stated that his objective was to illustrate “the modernity of classics,” and his inspiration board includes black-and-white photographs of seamstresses working in their white aprons at couture salons. The norms and procedures of haute couture haven’t actually changed much over the years, so it was difficult to distinguish which pictures were from the past and which were taken more recently at Valli’s studio. However, some of the pictures were older than others.

He explained that “it’s about savoir-faire, the art of the atelier, and the way you push the boundaries of the atelier,” which involves “working on the volumes, on the draping.”

As soon as you heard that, you couldn’t help but wonder what gives Valli’s gargantuan pouffe sleeves and huge bows, perched on the back of a slinky black gown like angel wings or ringing the hips of an austere, cement-grey column, their puffy appearance.

Those gave off an air of grandeur, whilst the white silk that was draped over the shoulders and overflowing from a bustier gave off an air of romanticism. A variant of the velvet Venetian slippers known as friulane was worn by the majority of the models, which gave the gowns a more modern air.

Princess Maria-Olympia of Greece and Denmark, whose pink gown suggested some boundary-pushing in the atelier, walked down the runway to close the show. The skirt’s pleated tulle ruffles had been zhushed into a graduated harlequin pattern that was dazzling. The designer typically asks one of his “Valli girls” to close the show, but this time the honour went to Princess Maria-Olympia of Greece and Denmark.

The Collection