On Friday — the day generally selected to announce news that isn’t “good” — Valentino and Pierpaolo Piccioli announced their breakup. The company described this as a “joint decision,” per Business of Fashion. People who follow this stuff are still gasping, clutching pearls, fainting, throwing up, etc. — how could Valentino parent company Mayhoola allow such a vaunted designer, who delivered such gorgeousness each season, to walk out the door? (Excluding those regrettable times his shows went viral because his models stumbled all over the place in shoes that didn’t fit.)
Here’s Pierpaolo’s statement, as printed in WWD:
“Not all stories have a beginning or an end, some live a kind of eternal present that shines so bright that it won’t produce any shadows. I’ve been in this company for 25 years, and for 25 years I’ve existed and I’ve lived with the people who have woven the weaves of this beautiful story that is mine and ours.
“Everything existed and exists thanks to the people I met, with whom I worked, with whom I shared dreams and created beauty, with whom I built something that belongs to all, and that remains immutable and tangible. This heritage of love, dreams, beauty and humanity, I carry it with me, today and forever.
“This is the beauty that we have created: life, hope, opportunity and gratitude, and my people, my heart and the love that gives you all the possibilities of the world, especially those that you could not imagine alone. Thanks to Mr. Valentino and Giancarlo Giammetti who have blessed me with their trust, thanks to every single person who made this possible in one way or another, it was a privilege and an honor to share my journey, and my dreams, with you.”
In 2008, Pierpaolo was appointed Valentino’s co-creative director alongside Maria Grazia Chiuri. She went to Dior in 2016, leaving Pierpaolo as sole creative director, at which point his shows really took off and became a highlight on each season’s calendar. It sounds weird to pinpoint gorgeous glamour as his signature, because this is high fashion and what’s the point of it if not that? But a certain lackluster-ness has taken hold of many big brands that are presumably more concerned with selling bags, shoes, and advent calendars filled with lipstick samples than presenting fantastical visions of fashion.
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Pierpaolo may not have given Valentino its second Rockstud bag, which is probably why he no longer has a job, but: this man needs a job! Surely another house has the sense to allow him to weave their weaves.
Let’s consider some possibilities:
Chanel - I don’t have any reason to think Virginie Viard is going anywhere but a friend called me the other day all excited about the idea of Pierpaolo for Chanel. Look, that notion excites me too — I did not get Viard’s L.A. show either — but Chanel’s operating profit was up 5.8 percent to $5.8 billion in 2022 (the last year for which the private company shared limited financials). Lace tights be damned, Viard’s vision certainly isn’t getting in the way of Chanel jacking up the price of 2.55 bags to $10,200, which is around what a Birkin costs.
Dior - Maria Grazia Chiuri’s Dior shows are like a succulent in an Anthropologie home catalog. They’re nice, but just kind of there. Each season, we know which styles of dress we’ll see and in what colors (khaki/gray/black). She seems determined not to really excite anyone, which probably helps this stuff sell — how many people really try to look exciting when they leave the house each day? But if LVMH was interested in tapping a middle ground between her Dior and John Galliano’s…
Michael Kors - J/k. But MK parent company Capri Holdings should try to put Proenza Schouler’s Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez there when the man himself actually steps down (which, despite recent reports in WWD, they claim is not happening).
Dries Van Noten - Both Dries and Pierpaolo are known for their exceptional use of color, but Dries, which employs fewer than 200 according to Pitchbook, would be small potatoes for Pierpaolo after Valentino, which employs thousands.
Gucci - I know people are thinking this, but Sabato de Sarno (who oversaw men’s and women’s collections under Pierpaolo before going to Gucci) surely has a contract in place. Though he’s had a rocky start, I think his vision will crystallize and start to work.
Givenchy - I quite liked what Claire Waight Keller did when she was designing Givenchy prior to Matthew Williams, who recently left. Maybe what this brand needs is to grow up a bit.
Balenciaga - Based on Back Row’s recent “Retail Confessions” on Balenciaga, I can’t help but wonder if they’ll decide to make a change with an eye toward reviving the brand’s beauty under Cristobal (which recently had a nice Oscars moment on Carey Mulligan, who wore a replica of one of his designs). The brand recently teased a bracelet that looks like a roll of tape, which would mark the second time the brand has tried to make tape happen. So.
Two other big designer successions loom, and it’s unclear what the brands are planning: Ralph Lauren, who is 84, and Giorgio Armani, who is 89.
As for Valentino, ex-Gucci creative director Alessandro Michele is reportedly in talks to take over, according to WWD.
So, dear readers, I turn it over to you: where should Pierpaolo work next? Should he link up with Armani, like Raf Simons with Miuccia Prada? Is it worth trying to make something of Givenchy? Dries or bust?? Also, where does McQueen’s recently departed designer Sarah Burton fit in? Please chime in below and do speculate on successors for other brands. Is fashion about to be taken over by boring millennials who are too steeped in cancel culture to ever give a journalist a real sound bite? I hope not.
Loose Threads
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Zendaya has been wearing a lot of Loewe for her Challengers press tour in Australia.
Gillian Anderson modeled clothes from the spring collections for The Guardian.
WSJ. asks, “Wait, When Did the Schlubs of Silicon Valley Learn to Dress?” Jacob Gallagher writes, “[T]his year, a new Zuckerberg has emerged. This Zuck wears suits that appear to have actually received the caring touch of a tailor. This Zuck wears a sturdy shearling jacket, as if he’s auditioning for a “Yellowstone” sequel. This Zuck wears a trim ribbed cardigan, and then posts a photo of himself in it on Instagram.”
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Remember the period in the 2010s when the internet turned on Anne Hathaway? She told Vanity Fair, “a lot of people wouldn’t give me roles because they were so concerned about how toxic my identity had become online.”
The way things are the moment, maybe the best thing for Pierpaolo is to lay low and maybe do some consultancy here and there until he can find a place that allows his creativity to flow. That being sad, Givenchy could be great as it offers nothing in terms of brand image at the moment, he basically could start from scratch as long as a new rockstud comes with the 1st collection. The state of fashion is so depressing right now, the last original ones (i.e. Dries) are leaving. What do we have to marvel about???
I am going to stay very provincial, but I can't see Pierpaolo Piccioli in a French or British house. Him reviving some dusted Italian fashion house would be interesting. I am thinking of what he could do at Pucci, Trussardi, or Etro. These are all Italian brands we know about but who have become lackluster. PPP knows very well Italian style and history without falling in the cliché of D&G, so seeing him revive such iconic Italian houses could be fascinating.
I am not sure about him having his own brand, but who knows!