VALENTINO hosted their Le Ciel Menswear autumn-winter 2024-25 collection show during Paris Fashion Week.
The collection reflects on contemporary masculinities and what it means to be a man in our current reality. Creative Director of Valentino Pierpaolo Piccioli delves into colour as a communication tool when considering ideas and ideals.
Blue, a colour associated with masculinity, is reevaluated this season, comparable to the essence of the modern man. Throughout history, colours have been suggestive of various attributes, with blue traditionally a feminine colour until the last century. Valentino’s AW24 offering reconsiders blue, reflecting our reconsideration of the modern man.
Sky blue, emblematic of free-thinking, is used frequently throughout the collection to examine masculinity and broaden its scope.
The silhouettes reflect a traditional masculine wardrobe that has been reworked to interpret a new identity, one that considers the strength in vulnerability, softness and fluidity while dismantling the ideals surrounding power and force, conceptions dominant in stereotypical menswear.
Fashion is used as a tool to communicate the necessity of evolution — as the world changes, so must man. Tailored garments are softened in the creation of a gentle man as elegant tailoring meets Haute Couture, and embroideries and embellishments are used to not only superficially reflect change but also to insinuate a change in identity.
Mythology is prevalent throughout various designs symbolic of idealism and timeless human values. The new technique, High Relief, named by Valentino Altorilievo, is seen throughout the collection, used to create space in the structural forms across the shoulders of jackets in an effort to demonstrate the disassemblage of stereotypical masculinity.
The collection takes inspiration from the traditional masculine wardrobe while still reflecting our current reality as it examines the fundamental changes in the definition of masculinity, which is already so palpable today.
by Nicole Pereira