RUNWAY: Valentino FW19

Valentino's Pierpaolo Piccioli has offered some great collaborations in the past, including Moncler. For FW19, there were two: Birkenstock and Undercover. The result, in combination with a new show space, kicked off a different aesthetic for Valentino, it seemed a bit more formal than usual - not a camo pattern in sight! Instead, stark, monochromatic layers were countered with UFO motifs and Beethoven's visage seen on great coats and knits, as well. The very limited edition Birkenstock x Valentino footwear will only be available in some 20 locations worldwide and will sell for about quadruple what a normal pair of Birkenstock goes for. Talk about high fashion! For the main Valentino, it really was much more sombre than usual and that likely had something to do with highlighting the collaborations this season, especially the one with Undercover which offered such vibrancy. The beautiful outerwear was, as usual, a highlight while the Valentino name could be seen emblazoned across the chest and a Valentino-red crossbody bag looked as covetable as anything else on the runway!