Giambattista Valli Pre-Fall 2009

"Giambattista Valli." is my answer when someone asks me who my favourite designer is.
Valli's Autumn/Winter 2008-2009 collection sealed my love for his designs when it's shocking shapes and frightening excess of fur came tottering down a long, plain runway on five inch platform heels. Some people at the show described it as "beautiful" or maybe "romantic", but the reason I loved it was because it shocked and, I confess, frightened me a little and to this day several of the pieces give me a shiver of excitement when watching them in motion. So after going over Valli's few previous collections and craving each one, I was desperate for his new Spring/Summer 2009 to be shown. I anticipated strange and powerful, unwearable but wonderful shapes. After being disappointed with most of the 2009 shows, I wanted Valli to shine through. Alas! A lot of the shapes were the same as the lesser shapes in the winter collection (and past collections) and I wasn't struck on the new pieces. It seems the Spring trend of disappointment affected Valli's collection also. Over the past fews days I'd been reading about Valli and how he was to be showing his Winter 2009 collection in Florence instead of Paris. Then coincidentally I came over his brand new pre-fall 2009 collection on style.com. What can I say? Giambattista Valli excels when it comes to winter. The way he mixes materials just makes me lust. The black fur jacket and the orange silk skirt and the bell sleeves on the low cut orange coat. The 'appearing arms' first black coat and the mixture of matte and patent. The olive green silk skirt matched with black fur, belt, gloves and tights, the full black outfit with the olive green shoes. I'm not at all a fan of leopard print but he's created this coat with black fur sleeves worn with black tights and shoes which I think works well. But I'm bored of his silhouettes - he keeps doing this frilled middle on a knee-length dress and big coats and Dior-esque two-pieces. I want him to do what I would do - keep the base shapes but change what is around it completely as so they are recogniseably Valli but completely different at the same time. I think the low cut orange coat is a breakthrough on that sort of idea. I hope his winter collection is stunning and different - I hope he gains inspiration from being back home in Italy.