FASHION ICON PIERPAOLO PICCIOLI: 10 INTERESTING FACTS
For his FW22 collection Pierpaolo Piccioli created a collection, named, The Beginning. The fashion show took place on the Spanish Steps, in Rome, just above the first and still existing Valentino store. The models casted for the show (men and women) were: from all ages, body types and nationalities. As he said: "Fashion that was one confined into a perimeter made of measures, dictates, is now free." He ended the show by walking the runway with the workers from the Atelier. Among the public were 120 Roman fashion students he had invited. This clearly proves Piccioli is not in this game for optics, but because he deeply believes in the work that he is doing.
He is married with three children, and still lives in Nettuno, the coastal town where he was born in 1967 and raised. He travels one hour to Rome for work.
Pierpaolo Piccioli always loved cinema, during his adolescence he dreamt of becoming a movie director. When he discovered fashion and its narrative power he decided to become a designer, it was a natural evolution of his dream. He, himself says humorously “no one really needs new items, but we all need emotions and dreams. This is why fashion is for.”
The effortless beauty of Rome with its layers of culture from paganism to christianity is the biggest source of Pierpaolo Piccioli’s inspiration.
He worked at Brunello Cuccinelli during his design studies. He then worked under the creative direction of Karl Lagerfeld, at Fendi, for eight years before being hired by Valentino, in 2008, with his design school friend, Maria Grazia Chiuri, to develop the nascent accessories line. Among other hit items, they created the Valentino Rock Studded shoe.
The Rock Stud doesn’t only have an easthetic function, it was originally created to hold leather pieces together.
He became the sole Creative Director of the house in July 2016 when Maria Grazia Chiuri was appointed first female Creative Director of Dior.
The Couture department is the jewel of the Valentino House. He has made it relevant by melding Couture and street. He does both t-shirts and opera coats with the same uniqueness and extravagance. He is famous for being the anti Anna Wintour of fashion and being always kind to the people he works with.
He won the International Designer of the Year Award in 2018 from the British Fashion Council in recognition for his transgenerational and international appeal. The brand has gained cult status among Gen Z and Gen Y.
In 2021, Pierpaolo Piccioli collaborated with British menswear designer Craig Green, to mark the tenth anniversary of the Valentino rockstud, which has become the brand’s icon. They created together a sneaker featuring it. It was a collaboration forged over Zoom during the pandemic, with Piccioli based in Rome and Green in East London (photo below).
Photo: Ruth Ossai, Pierpaolo Piccioli and Adut Akech
Pierpaolo Piccioli photographed for Vogue
Sneaker: Pierpaolo Piccioli x Craig Green
