Giambattista Valli may not have designed Margherita Missoni's wedding dress as was reported at the time, but he definitely designed Elettra Wiedemann's. Over the weekend the model tied the knot with British business consultant boyfriend James Marshall and wore a silk cocktail dress with a short Swarovski-encrusted skirt, according to Vogue.
Valli, what with his love of drama and romance, would definitely be up there on any woman's list of dream designers to design the dress for their big day but for the couple, having the designer involved was more sentimental. According to the title, it was actually Valli who introduced the couple five years ago before a London benefit. The rest is history...
The red carpet looks at last night's Oscars was mixed. Angelina Jolie looked incredible in an Atelier Versace black gown with thigh high slit, just about everyone wearing Elie Saab Couture looked incredible and Emma Stone stole the show in a red halter neck Giambattista Valli Couture gown.
Unsurprisingly, Jessica Chastain chose an Alexander McQueen gown and Rooney Mara chose Givenchy as we expected but unfortunately did not make the statement that we were all hoping for. The most interesting look of the night came from Gwyneth Paltrow who, like last year with that Calvin Klein dress, managed to pull off a difficult Tom Ford dress.
Clockwise from large image: Emma Stone in Alexander McQueen; Ashlee Simpson in Jenny Packham; Natalie Portman in Giambattista Valli; Lea Michele in Versace; Sofia Vegara in Marchesa; Rose Byrne in Elie Saab and Tilda Swinton in Lanvin
Despite only being two seasons into his life as a couturier, Giambattista Valli has got it spot on and continues to demonstrate the confidence and ease of which you would expect from the bigger brands. Like last season, the pieces were aspirational and were steeped with opulence but were pieces you would actually want to wear, that is if you had the money of course.
Luigi Scialanga's jewellery has always complimented Valli's designs and the results of their partnership on this collection was no different. Dramatic necklaces came in multiple roses which tied in to the petal prints on strapless gowns and dramatic floral headwear that appeared throughout. The puffs of fabric on the shoulder of asymmetric chiffon ball gowns to the dramatic oversized bows on peplum outwear brought drama and the visible underwear that popped up towards the end was sexy but in a sensual Carine Roitfeld way.
Zoe Saldana knows how to dress for the red carpet but I wasn't wowed by this look that she wore last night to attend a charity event in Beverley Hills. She was attending a charity event so a glitzy outfit would not have made sense, granted, but this Giambattista Valli look teamed with open toe Giuseppe Zanotti heels feels slightly mediocre.
The Oprah Winfrey hosted party for Ralph Lauren wasn't the only big fashion event this week as Thursday night saw Simon Doonan host the Fashion Group International's 28th annual Night of Stars party at Cipriani Wall Street. Guests included everyone from Anna Sui to Amar'e Stoudemire and Kate and Laura Mulleavy of Rodarte, Lauren Bush, Giambattista Valli, Daphne Guiness and Andrew Rosen all walked away with awards.
Giambattista Valli's collection for Macy's hasn't even hit stores yet but the retailer has already announced their next collaboration. Doo Ri Chung is the latest designer to sign up to work with the retailer, WWD reports, on their Impulse line.
The collection - set to drop on February 15 - will feature the draping and signatures that she's known for but will be available at prices ranging from $39-$159. "The customer is very different from whom we’ve catered to before, but I really didn’t have to adapt,” Chung said when asked about the challenge of designing for a low price point. “Macy’s wanted to keep the design level high. I didn’t feel the challenge was very different.”
As if Marc Jacobs wasn't already at the centre of rumours and speculation at the moment, last week Robert Duffy hinted that a possible move to Dior is not the only thing on the horizon for the American designer.
In an interview in WSJ magazine he hinted that Jacobs could follow in the footsteps of Giambattista Valli. "He's definitely learned his craft and become an amazing technician," he said. "He could do a couture line."Although a couture collection by Jacobs would make us smile, this sounds more like a way to drum up more attention in the run up to his show than any real suggestion of an expansion into couture.
