Florence Pugh and Pierpaolo Piccioli.Photo:Gareth Cattermole/BFC/Getty Images for BFC
Gareth Cattermole/BFC/Getty Images for BFC
Pierpaolo Piccioli’s 25-year legacy at Valentino is coming to an end.
On Friday, the designer and Valentino creative director, 56,announced he is exiting the fashion labelafter nearly three decades.
“Not all stories have a beginning and an end. Some live a kind of eternal present that shines with a bright light, so strong that it leaves no shadows,” Piccioli wrote inItalianon Instagram.
“I have been in this company for 25 years, and for 25 years I have existed and lived together with the people who with me have woven the threads of these beautiful stories that are mine and ours. Everything has existed and exists because of the people I have known, with whom I have worked, with whom I have shared dreams and created beauty, with whom I have built something that belongs to everyone, and which remains immutable and tangible. This heritage of love, dreams, beauty and humanity, I carry with me, today and forever.”
Lady Gaga in Valentino at the 2019 Golden Globes.George Pimentel/WireImage
George Pimentel/WireImage
Piccioli went on to thank “every single person who has made this possible in one way or another, it has been a privilege and an honor to share my journey, and my dreams, with you.” He also expressed gratitude toward founder Valentino Garavani and Giancarlo Giammetti, the 91-year-old designer’s longtime business partner and friend.
Whoopi Goldberg, Pierpaolo Piccioli and Carey Mulligan attend the 2021 Met Gala.Mike Coppola/Getty
Mike Coppola/Getty
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Piccioli’s journey at Valentino began in 1999, when he and fellow designer Maria Grazia Chiuri (who now helms Dior) joined the house as accessories designers. During their tenure, the duo reimagined the brand’s handbags and eyewear and later designed the Red Valentino line in 2003 before overseeing its entire accessories collection, perBusiness of Fashion.
The duo then moved up the ladder and became co-creative directors in 2008 before Piccioli took on the title as creative director in 2016.
For the past eight years, the Istituto Europeo di Design graduate has paved the way as the sole mastermind behind some of the looks seen on Hollywood’s best dressed stars, includingZendaya,Anne Hathaway,Lady Gaga,Naomi Campbelland more.
Florence Pugh and Pierpaolo Piccioli attend the 2023 Met Gala.Cindy Ord/MG23/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue
Cindy Ord/MG23/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue
Florence Pugh, who became a Valentino ambassador in April 2023, has easily become one of Piccioli’s celebrity muses.
TheOppenheimeractress accompanied the designer to the 2023 Met Gala, dressed in one of his creations — a dramatic white gown coupled with a floor-sweeping ribbon sash and a towering feather headpiece. Meanwhile, Piccioli was also the driving force behind Pugh’ssheer nipple-baring pink gownthat broke the Internet in July 2022.
Anne Hathaway wearing Valentino pink at the label’s fall 2022 show in July 2022.Zendaya covered in pink rosettes at the 2023 SAG Awards.Anne Hathaway wearing Valentino pink at the label’s fall 2022 show in July 2022.PHOTO:Jacopo Raule/GettyZendaya covered in pink rosettes at the 2023 SAG Awards.PHOTO:Frazer Harrison/Getty
Anne Hathaway wearing Valentino pink at the label’s fall 2022 show in July 2022.Zendaya covered in pink rosettes at the 2023 SAG Awards.
Anne Hathaway wearing Valentino pink at the label’s fall 2022 show in July 2022.
Zendaya covered in pink rosettes at the 2023 SAG Awards.
Anne Hathaway wearing Valentino pink at the label’s fall 2022 show in July 2022.PHOTO:Jacopo Raule/GettyZendaya covered in pink rosettes at the 2023 SAG Awards.PHOTO:Frazer Harrison/Getty
Jacopo Raule/Getty
Frazer Harrison/Getty
Speaking of pink, Picciolifully embraced the huein his fall 2022 collection, shifting Valentino from the bold red the brand was long associated with. This led to a resurgence of Barbiecore in the world of high fashion everywhere, from Fashion Week (where Hathaway so boldly wore her hot pink minidress in Rome in 2022), to awards season and beyond.
Valentino has not yet announced Piccioli’s successor, but according toThe Hollywood Reporter, his replacement will be announced soon.
source: people.com
