Mirabilia Romae: Valentino Couture 2015

I love Paris Haute Couture week. usually my favourite shows tend to be Giambattista Valli, Zuhair Murad, Chanel etc, the normal big, heavy weight luxury brands. However for fall 2015, the Valentino Couture show was absolutely, hands down the best collection of them all.

Inspired by a beautiful Greek tragedy and seeped in historical detailing, Valentino delivered a spell binding collection of amazing dresses. The title of the collection, 'Mirabilia Romae' which translates to "marvels of Rome," in Latin was indeed an ode to the ancient wondrous city. Models looked like angels descending onto the catwalk in Rome, complete with simple make up and hair swept back in loose ponytails with gold embellished head pieces. The jewelery was so sumptuous, all golds and precious stones embossed onto statement necklaces, bracelets and earrings. The necklaces especially really lifted the already beautiful clothes with a touch of class and majesty. The whole collection was basically majestic; fit for an ancient Greek goddess.

Designers, Maria Grazia Churi and Pier Paolo Piccoli went for very simple yet bold colours. There was plenty of black and dark greys, and of course, the famous 'Valentino Red' was included in the collection. Some prints were used but really the simplicity of the colours was enough. All the dresses were elegant and swept across the ground; silks and chiffon in empire line shapes were reminiscent of sublime Greek statues and the belts that cinched in the waist were gorgeous. Some had sleeves while others were drapped in a-symmetric silhouettes. I loved the fact that some bared a lot of cleavage, but were then classy and refined due to the yards of fabric in the skirt. It was the kind of collection you could tell would costs a lot of money as the clothes just smelt of luxury.

The overall feel of the show was extremely 'Game of Thrones' with a twist of classic, Italian tailoring.
The clothes were medieval looking but could fit right into a 21st century dinner party. I loved the red coat with the large lapels and gold brocading, regardless of the to be expected huge price tag. I also thought all of the red pieces in the middle of the collection were magnificent. The whole thing, from the catwalk set design to the spell binding black capes and the gladiator sandals, this was a show fit for a princess.