Paris Haute Couture Fashion Week FW 2012: Valentino

A perfect match for yesterday's ethereal fashion show from Elie Saab is of course the FW Valentino collection, designed by Pierpaolo Piccioli and Maria Grazia Chiuri. This fall season seems to be under the dominance of countenance and sobriety, the dresses are long-sleeved, the colors are mostly dark and the hemlines reach onto the ground up to the tip of the shoes. The silhouettes are slim and elegant, well-defined, but yet they guard a note of mystery because of the play of contrasts - sheer versus opaque, embroideries and appliques versus simple monochrome fabrics.

The collection is exquisite, very elegant in its ink blue-colored simplicity but well-balanced overall with some rich fabrics and patterns and flamboyant details like the embroideries. The garments are impeccably tailored and the level of craftsmanship is incredibly high, imagine that for example some of the embroideries have had 900 hours of handwork preceding the presentation! 

My personal favorites were the ink blue dress worn by Frida Gustavsson in the opening photo, the ink blue dress with sheer sleeves and a black embroidered panel on the front worn by Kasia Strauss, the nude pleated dress with light floral details worn by Ruby Aldridge or the Ginta Lapina's jumpsuit. Notice the tree of life embroidery on the back of one of the golden jackets, it was one of the collection's motifs. I'll let you discover your own favorites now, with my selection of the most interesting looks from the runway!

I really like the concept of this collection and the color palette, give me ink blue anytime and I'll wear it! What did you think of the collection? What are your favorite looks?

Photos: vogue.fr