Daily Front Row

2010 March 10

Runway Reviews: Valentino, Chloé

Valentino, Fall 2010
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(PARIS) Valentino
Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pier Paolo Piccioli are enjoying the success of their Golden Globes moment (via Chloe Sevigny), and evidently, elements from that ruffled blush gown informed their Fall collection. The usual romantic elements were firmly in place---dramatic ruffles, lace insets, yards of fluttering chiffon, and embellished flats. This season, the designers opted for a rock-and-roll vibe on the footwear front, studding these evening shoes and even rendering a few pair in bright red. Leather driving gloves contributed the vibe. The director Kenneth Anger contributed video installations to lend the clothes an air of the digital. While editors quite literally swooned over the trickier lace pieces, it was a toss-on, ruffled fuschia gown, worn by Sasha Pivavarova, that showed the greatest promise in courting that die-hard Valentino customer. But then again--there are always new ones...

Chloé
If you crave camel separates, then Hannah MacGibbon is your woman. The designer conceived dozens of possible configurations for Fall, resulting in a Chloé collection full of elegance and wearability. Soft-shouldered, menswear-style outerwear was contrasted with floor-grazing jersey dresses. Country-life staples such as flannels, cashmere, and herringbone tweeds made cameos alongside a black leather sweatsuit--if you can call a leather sweatsuit a sweatsuit.