To its core, Valentino breathes elegance and excellence. Founded in 1960 by Valentino Garravani, the Italian fashion brand has released highly coveted collections for over six decades. Garavani developed a timeless reputation of tasteful luxury for his brand, and in 2008 he passed the torch over to designing duo Pierpaolo Piccoli and Maria Grazia Chiuri. In 2016, Chiuri left the house to begin overseeing a little brand called Dior - ever heard of it? Without his fashion partner in crime, Piccoli was left to execute his own vision at Valentino and establish his own name in the fashion industry. This is his story. 

Piccoli grew up in Nettuno, Italy, just an hour south of Rome and Valentino’s creative atelier. He attended Rome University, where he took a course in “experimental fashion,” which kick-started his fashion ingenuity. In this program, he met his aforementioned comrade, Maria Grazi Chiuri, and the two quickly became friends. Upon graduating together in 1989, they both began working in Fendi’s accessories branch - which was being overseen by the Karl Lagerfeld at the time. Talk about a first job. A decade later, the dynamic design duo was recruited to oversee Valentino’s emerging accessories department. Piccoli caught Mr. Valentino’s eye due to his stunning handbags, obviously, but also because of his unfiltered honesty regarding Valentino’s own designs. This is the equivalent of a line cook critiquing Gordon Ramsey’s steaks - it is never done for a reason. 

But Valentino saw the value in collaboration. He never let his ego stop him from pursuing a good idea, no matter who thought of it, so by an ordained miracle, Piccoli stuck around. This set the foundation for a strong professional relationship between Piccoli, Chiuri, and Valentino in which critique would be deemed of value rather than taken as an insult. This workplace environment and leadership style have stuck with Piccoli throughout his entire career.

Piccoli, having gained the trust of Mr. Valentino, developed a new branch of Valentino in 2003 alongside Chiuri, entitled RED Valentino. RED, inspired by the iconic red hues of Valentino’s original designs, was a line of accessible luxury items at a more affordable price, which essentially allows more than just the top 1% to don Valentino products - a genius form of outreach marketing. Finally getting to design ready-to-wear garments, Piccoli and Chiuri spent the next five years preparing to eventually take full creative reigns of the brand because in 2008, Mr. Valentino retired and the fashion house was left in their rejuvenated and capable hands. 

Over the next eight years, the co-creative directors released collections incredibly reflective of the fashion brand’s heritage. Haute Couture collections were designed for an elegant Italian goddess, with long asymmetrical dresses and intricate embroidery. In retrospect, knowing what Chiuri’s solo collections look like with Dior and knowing what Piccoli’s solo collections look like, it is incredibly clear to see how the two perspectives melded together - in their love for the feminine mystique. In 2016, however, the fashion duo parted ways as Chiuri accepted a position as creative director for Dior’s women’s ready-to-wear and Haute Couture, replacing Raf Simmons, who, as of 2020, works as co-creative director at Prada. 

As Piccoli faced the daunting task of being a solo act for the first time in his career, fashion fans were on the edge of their seats to see what a solo collection from the Italian would look like - and he did not disappoint. The top three most notable aspects he brought to the forefront of the brand were his lines, his colors, and his marketing. 

The silhouettes created by Piccoli escape the bounds of diction and can only be described as emanating the same essence. In a 2019 interview with Hamish Bowles for Vogue, Piccoli details Valentino Garravani’s “...dreams of a dress drawn with one line,” the perfect description of the Valentino design aesthetic. Everything is clean and crisp. While the shape of the garments might appear minimalist in comparison to other brands, the technicality behind the construction makes it one of the more impressive fashion houses. The shape of each garment radiates strength in its design while still remaining feminine and wearable - even the biggest dresses look like floating clouds.

The color palettes Piccoli draws from are what ensure that his designs are never labeled as “simple.” The technique of color blocking - easy in theory but difficult to execute - is one of his strongest traits as a designer. It would be unfair to say that Valentino went through a decade-long color-dry spell before Piccoli was in charge, but there were a lot of romantic neutral colors being used, and very rarely were any pops of color. Now, Piccoli’s Valentino collections are all color with pops of neutrals. This design choice not only made his designs more recognizable on the runway but also garnered the attention of a younger crowd of customers. 

Piccoli brought a youthful energy to the brand without making it immature. He understands how to appeal to a younger audience by creating bold and timeless pieces rather than trying to become a younger designer by using trends that he does not fully understand or simply does not pertain to his fashion DNA. He never dumbs down his designs or tries to be someone he is not in order to gain younger customers. One of the most notable marketing strategies within his career is his use of relevant fashionable brand ambassadors, such as style icon Zendaya and the boundary-pushing Florence Pugh. With these Hollywood starlets wearing his designs, it brings a lot of eyes onto the brand - especially the fashion shows. This is where Piccoli uses the key opportunity to highlight the true stars of the show: the artisans.

Above everything else, Piccoli values teamwork and the artisans who work tirelessly in the atelier to make his visions come to life. On numerous occasions, he has commented on his tremendous respect for the craftsmanship required to be a part of the luxury industry. This is most notably displayed during his “finale walk” of each fashion show. At the end of a show, typically, the designer walks out and waves to the crowd of attendees. Rather than receive the applause of the crowd alone or with the models (which is a common occurrence), Piccoli walks out with his entire artisan team, showing the world that there is no “I” in “team” and nothing would get done without them. A theme of teamwork and listening to the opinions of those you surround yourself with can be seen throughout the entirety of Pierpaolo Piccoli’s career. From being half of a duo to leading his own ship - he never allowed any semblance of an ego to overrun him. As he departs from the Valentino brand in 2024, after twenty-five years of experimentation, wisdom, and growth, there is no doubt in anyone’s mind that Pierpaolo Piccoli will continue to flourish in greatness.  

Written by Parker Elkins, Photography: Rayan Syed, Social Media: Liane Nguyen, Stying: Isabella Garcia