Pierpaolo Piccioli‘s spring-summer 2024 menswear collection for Valentino felt statment-less, even though it had quotes from Hanya Yanagihara’s “A Little Life” printed on some of the garments. That return to actual clothing, and not a big theme, felt refreshing, because the last couple of Valentino collections were overloaded with meanings and ideas. Staged on a regular school day in the garden of La Statale, Milan’s public university housed in a beautiful Renaissance building, guests (and students) watched the show in the hot Italian sun. Piccioli was drawn to “A Little Life“‘s take on contemporary men so much so that pink-hued copies of the book were sent out as invitations to the show. “The intimacy and humanity of the four male characters, their open vulnerability and resilience was touching and inspiring for me,” he offered. The show pivoted on Piccioli’s easing of classic masculine tropes, subtly subverted through a gentle approach. He worked on sartorial codes, softening the proportions of boxy blazers, replacing trousers with short shorts and skirts, embroidering flowers on lapels or printing blown-up blooms on breezy light jackets and straight-cut shirts. Piccioli’s artistic flair for a pictorial palette – mint green, raspberry, turquoise and hot pink alternating with black and white – emphasized a sense of individual vitality and an attitude of romantic freedom.

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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