Valentino: The Show That Celebrated People Of Color

In terms of history, Yves Saint Laurent was the pioneer in choosing black models for his couture shows. A bold step at that time when many editorials of magazines serving black audiences like "Ebony" and "Jet" could not borrow clothes from high-end fashion houses. In those early days, some black models were often separated from white models in the dressing room.

With Valentino's Spring-Summer 2019 couture show, praise is not enough, fashion catwalk Valentino Haute couture Spring-Summer 2019 has surpassed a regular show and becomes a rare moment in fashion. 

"Couture is a unique beauty of life, it is only for white women and used to mean nothing to black people." - Pierpaolo Piccioli, the brand's creative director, said: "But at this show, we sincerely want to celebrate black beauty."

The beauty of a woman of color, by Pierpaolo Piccioli is inspired by real life models, such as Eartha Kitt, Manet, Gauguin and Kerry James Marshall, or even Soul photos from 1960 African American magazine. 

Throughout the collection, Valentino uses a full range of colors such as carbon pink satin, mustard cashmere and periwinkle cotton, chartreuse and pearl gray, lilac with tangerines, emeralds and chocolates. mules combined with roses and ivory. 

Naomi Campbell as the closing model was part of a diverse cast of models that named the biggest in the industry like Alek Wek, Liya Kebede, Akiima, Blesnya Minher, Hiandra Martinez, Nicole Atieno, Yoon Young Bae, Rouguy Faye, Fatou Jobe or Liu Wen.

Inspired is this collection also by "Ebony" owner Eunice Walker Johnson who came from a family of American tycoons. For nearly 50 years until her death in 2010, Ms. Johnson traveled to Paris to buy some of the best haute couture from Dior, Yves Saint Laurent, Givenchy, Claude Montana, Christian Lacroix, Jean-Paul Gaultier, and Oscar de la Renta. Eunice became one of the first black leather couture customers at the time when there weren't any African-American fashion editors in the front row of all Louis XIV stores.

Ironically, Valentino once refused Johnson to join her show. But, that didn't stop her from introducing Haute couture to black communities across America. She traveled from state to state during the year with a group of black models, including Pat Cleveland, in the 1960s. Johnson was aware of the impact that the expression of such clothing could have.