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Valentino and creative director Pierpaolo Piccioli are parting ways, the Italian house said on Friday. A “new creative organization” is to be announced soon.
Piccioli joined the house in 1999 as an accessory designer alongside Maria Grazia Chiuri. The pair were appointed co-creative directors in 2008, replacing Alessandra Facchinetti, who had taken up the role a year earlier after founder Valentino Garavani retired. In 2016, Piccioli took on the role of sole creative director, following Chiuri’s departure for Dior.
“Not all stories have a beginning or an end, some live a kind of eternal present that shines so bright that it won’t produce any shadows,” said Piccioli in a statement. “I’ve been in this company for 25 years, and for 25 years I’ve existed and I’ve lived with the people who have woven the weaves of this beautiful story that is mine and ours… Thanks to Mr Valentino and [Valentino co-founder] Giancarlo Giammetti who have blessed me with their trust, thanks to every single person who made this possible in one way or another. It was a privilege and an honour to share my journey, and my dreams, with you.”
Piccioli grew up in the Italian resort city of Nettuno, studied literature at Rome University, interned at Brunello Cucinelli and after graduation, joined the team at Fendi with Chiuri. Speaking with Luke Leitch in a 2011 interview about the way he and Chiuri approached the task of directing design at Valentino, Piccioli said: “We keep the language but change the attitude.” That translated initially into collections that toughened Valentino staples, including ruffles and bows (not to mention red), and injected new motifs like the Rockstud. His first collection in October 2016 after Chiuri left “revealed the unbridled romanticism and fantasy of Piccioli’s singular vision”, Hamish Bowles wrote.
