MILAN (Reuters) – Italian luxury house Valentino kicked off Milan Fashion Week’s menswear shows on Friday with a lineup combining blazers and coats with shorts, as creative director Pierpaolo Piccioli sought to redefine the meaning of the masculine identity.
The collection used embroidered flowers to add a note of delicacy to classic workwear pieces, with subversive elements such as tissue flowers in lieu of ties.
Valentino, which is controlled by Qatari investment vehicle Mayhoola, presented its menswear collection for spring and summer 2024 in the arched courtyard of Milan’s state university.
Valentino ditched the co-ed show model – the mixing of men’s and women’s shows – which it had adopted for the last three years and returned to Milan, where founder Valentino Garavani staged the first Valentino menswear show in 1985.
Milan Fashion Week includes 72 events and presentations of menswear collections. It runs until June 20 and will feature shows from high-end labels including Giorgio Armani, Prada, Dolce & Gabbana and Ermenegildo Zegna.
(Reporting by Elisa Anzolin; editing by Valentina Za)
