Valentino Says That ‘Primitive’ Africa-Inspired Collection Was Really About Tolerance
Valentino Spring 2016 runway. Photo: Getty Images
Race is a touchy subject in fashion—it’s one designers often touch on, and rarely get right. From Chanel’s Native American headdresses to Valentino’s recent Africa-inspired collection, there’s at least one show per season that leaves the industry cringing.
In Paris last month, Valentino’s creative directors Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pierpaolo Piccioli sent Masai-inspired beading, feathered skirts, and white models with cornrows down their runway. The brand’s own Instagram called the collection “Primitive, tribal, spiritual, yet regal.” Obviously, the press raised a concerned eyebrow.
So when Chiuri and Piccioli spoke at the WWD Retail and Apparel CEO Summit in New York City on Wednesday, they couldn’t avoid the question: What was really going on there? Did they mean for the collection to be so subversive?
“I don’t know if race is subversive. If race is subversive, then yes,” said Chiuri. “I think you have to be honest with yourself, and that can be subversive. Sometimes it is easier to please others. We don’t want to please the others—we want to do something that we believe in.”
OK, but why appropriate Africa? “After [the Rome-themed Fall 2015 couture collection] we felt that we had to move,” clarified Piccioli. “We talked a lot about places, and our emotions, so we had to open our minds in a way. Thinking about beauty and the crossing of cultures was the big issue, and to create an integration of cultures. It’s not about Africa. It’s about tolerance, and integration, and opening minds to other cultures and inviting other people to know.”
Chiuri suggested that this being a European brand shown in Europe, perhaps their intentions were a little lost in translation. “In Italy, it is a little different than here [in America],” she said. “We feel that to open minds to other cultures is a big opportunity for us because it is a complicated place. Fashion can give a message. If you introduce other cultures with fashion, you can give another point of view. That is what we like about our jobs.”
“Fashion is about conviction,” said Piccioli. “Our job is about delivering an idea of beauty. Our times are all about beauty and emotion. Everybody is looking for emotion. You don’t really need coats—you need emotions.”
Valentino Spring 2016 certainly did not fail to deliver its fair share of emotions. It’s a relief to know that Chiuri and Piccioli’s intentions came from a very pure place of wanting to foster awareness and moving forward our culture’s standards of beauty and acceptance. But the fact stands that race in fashion is such a complex, multifaceted issue, even the most innocent intentions can result in unintentional controversy.
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