Did Valentino just kick off a new, more diverse era in fashion? The brand’s spring/summer 2022 haute couture collection at Paris Fashion Week embraced all races, ages and body types

Jan 28 , 2022

Is Valentino heralding a new, more diverse era in fashion with its spring/summer 2022 haute couture collection during Paris Fashion Week in Paris, France, on January 26? Photo: Xinhua

The fashion industry has long been accused of racism and Western-centrism, but Italian designer Pierpaolo Piccioli took a step forward with his colourful new collection

Meanwhile, Kenzo showed the first collection of Nigo, its first Japanese designer since Kenzo Takada, in what was seen as a milestone in the world of luxury fashion brands

It was a breath of fresh air in Paris, as Valentino’s designer Pierpaolo Piccioli liberated himself of constraints on race, age and weight on Wednesday, January 26, to produce a joyful, inclusive and long-awaited moment of couture.

Fashion prides itself on being able to predict trends and be ahead of the curve. So many industry watchers have been disappointed in recent years that European fashion houses – some of whom have been accused of Western-centrism and even racism – have seemed behind on issues of body positivity and diversity.

A model presents a creation of Valentino’s spring/summer 2022 haute couture collection during Paris Fashion Week in Paris, France, on January 26. Photo: Xinhua

For spring, Piccioli took one well-heeled step forward.

“I have reflected on the body. The repetition of the house model proportion has always been the rhythm to follow and I thought it was time for a change,” Piccioli said. “Creativity, as life itself, is possible only in a non-homogenous environment.”

Valentino’s spring/summer 2022 haute couture collection was a breath of fresh air in an often homogenous industry, presented during Paris Fashion Week in Paris, France, on January 26. Photo: Xinhua

And with that, the lauded Italian designer waded into a new realm: a fashion universe of clothes worn by individuals, regardless of skin colour, age, height or waist size.

A glittery, colourful look from Valentino’s spring/summer 2022 haute couture collection presented at Paris Fashion Week in Paris, France, on January 26. Photo: Xinhua

Couture, the age-old tradition of exorbitantly priced made-to-measure clothes, has always been governed by strict rules of body shapes, and traditionally modelled on predominantly white, European-looking models of a certain height and weight.

In the storied Place Vendome, Piccioli finally broke down those rules.