Valentino and practical aren’t two words that naturally fit together. After all, the Italian fashion house is known for its high-quality, high-glamour designs, which have been worn everywhere from the White House (Jackie Kennedy was a famous patron of the brand) to the red carpet (A-listers from Anne Hathaway to Nicole Kidman have worn it), when practicality often goes out the window.
This season however, designer Pierpaolo Piccioli has debuted some thoroughly wearable designs without sacrificing any of the house’s signature glamour, by introducing pockets to his racer-back, voluminous evening gowns, meaning not only could you go hands-free, but you could also sneak in more than a few canapes.
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As well as the aforementioned gowns, there were also belted playsuits, bubble dresses, LBDs and high-waist shorts, which all featured useful pockets. If you did want to take a bag, there was one worn as a bumbag with straps securing it around the waist as well as on the shoulder, plus wristlet bags, meaning eveningwear was basically as uncumbersome as possible this season.
Piccioli explained in his show notes that for spring/summer 2018 he was inspired by space, and specifically the perspective on the earth that the Apollo moon landing had, which explains why the usual Renaissance-style dresses were absent from the collection. Instead, the collection had a more modern feel, with space age inflections being seen in clear plastic macs, mini-skirt hemlines (the Sixties saw the birth of the space race, after all) and utilitywear fit for space travel (chic space travel, natch).
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