Ben Stiller Sounds Off on Valentino Couture
Photo: Getty Images
When Valentino wants to celebrate a new store opening, you know it’s going to be a lavish affair. Creative directors Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pierpaolo Piccioli have been in town all week to fête the opening of their new Fifth Avenue flagship and for the house’s grand finale, a three-tiered spectacular was held at the former Whitney Museum space (the institution moved downtown to the Meatpacking District and is opening its new doors in May). Once inside, the first stop was on the fourth floor where guests were invited to indulge in a fully sensory experience that was tied to a collaboration with Italian decorative arts company Fornasetti, and curated by Francesco Bonami.
A Baby Grand piano in a dark room represented sound, an LCD screen flashing Fornasetti images represented sight, a room where a cedar scent emanated from a large box with keyhole cutouts for smell, and for touch there was a room where Fornasettti hand cutouts hung from the ceiling by long strings. “I don’t know where to look, it’s overwhelming,” said Emma Roberts with a laugh as one of the cutouts swiped past her perfectly polished nose. “It’s a lot.” Nearby Katie Holmes, looking lovely in a minidress by the designer stopped to playfully pose in a robot dance formation. As for taste? That must have been all of the Pierre Jouet champagne being passed around, darling.
Related: Watch the Valentino Spring 2015 Ready-to-Wear Show
Soon guests were invited to descend downstairs for a glamorous runway show featuring an all-white haute collection. Dubbed Sala Bianca 945, the collection was inspired by earlier renditions that Valentino himself designed in the sixties. Nearly all of the looks were modern recreations named after Valentino’s muses including C.Z. Guest (a checkered suit in felted cashmere), Peggy Guggenheim (a Chantilly lace, muslin, and ribbings dress with crocodile and ponyhair accents), and his all-time favorite Jackie O. (pleated muslin dress with gardenia guipure lace and cashmere cape).
“That was is what it should be,” an elated Isabel Toledo said afterward at the final stop on the second floor for a dinner party. The designer, who is a favorite of Michelle Obama’s, was practically afloat.“The models all looked like a bunch of angels,” noted her husband Ruben. As waiters passed out small plates of pasta on silver trays, and crowd got ready for a performance by UK artist, Skin, actor Ben Stiller offered his glowing review. “What’s your one question?,” he said when asked if he would mind commenting on the collection. “Amazing. Okay? That’s it.” Hey, we can’t all be angels all the time.
