The Digital and Handmade Come Together for Valentino Spring/Summer 2021 Haute Couture
Valentino's newest collection from Pierpaolo Piccioli juxtaposes the handmade processes of Haute Couture craftsmanship with digital renderings. Unveiled from the Galleria Colonna, Sala Grande in Rome, the Spring/Summer 2021 Haute Couture show, titled Code Temporal, looks at "the mastery of the handmade as timeless code and value," while simultaneously examining it through 21st century technology. To expand on these ideas, the virtual presentation features a dialogue between the creative director and British artist Robert Del Naja.
A special post-show video created using machine learning algorithms takes creative cues from the Haute Couture designs themselves and then interprets them through "synthetic filters and neural networks" created by Del Naja and Mario Klingemann. This latest convergence of art, tech, and fashion follows the Valentino Fall/Winter 2020 Haute Couture collection which was presented via a digital performance made in collaboration with Nick Knight. It was largely celebrated as one of the few successes of designers turning digital and still managing to capture the excitement and wonder of an in-person runway show.