Examining the looks from Valentino’s couture collection you immediately realize why the Renaissance was born in Italy. Where else on European soil in those days there was such a concentration of beauty, art and passion if not on the Apennine Peninsula? The outfits created by the Roman duo Pierpaolo Picciolo and Mary Grace Currie are so historically accurate that it seems sometimes that the designers travel in time, they fly back to the fifteen century and then adapt the ruling in the courts of Florence, Milan and Vatican silhouettes to the realities of the twenty-first one.

The fashion house Valentino, together with all the cultural world, is celebrating the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare – the main poet of humanity, with the majority of his romantic characters coming from Italy.

Excellently paraphrased into a modern taste sets of snow-white pleated collar and sloping shoulder line, ending in the puff sleeves are complemented with biker boots and massive chains inlaid with large stones, and a skull-pendant. Signature combination of contrasting elements in a single look results in a unique femininity à la Valentino – sensual and rebellious at the same time.

Impeccably fitted black velvet dress with a low-cut mesh neckline could have been worn by Juliet in mourning for her beloved one. Blood-red sets evoke associations with a cardinal’s mantle. And in the seductive “page suit” made of gilded brocade with pleated shorts I can perfectly imagine a hiding from a pursuit of her father and brother Lucrezia Borgia.

But the main question hanging in the air of not only this show, but the entire fashion week, is linked to the future of the house of Valentino. Officially confirmed rumors of Maria Grazia Currie entering Dior and moving to Paris break the legendary designer couple and bring the anxiety of uncertainty in one of the most stable and commercially successful brands. Having created a fairy tale jointly for nearly 10 years, will they be able to carry on apart?

Let’s hope so..

Photo credits: Valentino