Paris Haute Couture 2019: Valentino’s dramatic offering featuring Naomi Campbell leaves Celine Dion in tears
Canadian singer weeps dramatically throughout show and causes commotion in the middle as she requests tissues from helpers
Valentino took drama to its height at its Wednesday spring couture collection in Paris, where Celine Dion wept theatrically as a solemn Naomi Campbell swept past to close the house’s show in a see-through black organza gown.
The VIP crowd, surrounded by multicoloured perfumed flowers, whooped during a standing ovation as snow fell outside.
At couturier Pierpaolo Piccioli’s request, Valentino’s seamstresses named each and every couture dress after a flower or emotion.
This detail reveals the preciousness that the designer and his atelier bestowed on the 65 carefully constructed looks, in which each model was transformed into a silken bloom.
A surreal red rose hood opened the collection, enveloping the model’s head. Later gowns were less unusual or daring, producing a display in which Piccioli offered a more classical interpretation of floral couture.
Wednesday’s effort lacked some of the vigour of Piccioli’s stand-out collection last season, but it was poetic, thoughtful and rich in colour.