Wobbling, Tripping & Falling: The Joys Of The Valentino Runway
When a model falls in front of the judging eyes of a fashion crowd, their career can be thrown into jeopardy (Unless, of course, you’re Naomi Campbell). Unfortunately for many of the models walking the Valentino Spring 2023 ready-to-wear show, they may now struggle to find future jobs, and it isn’t their fault.
The fashion world was eagerly awaiting the Valentino show to see whether Pierpaolo Piccioli would stick with the brand’s now rather iconic pink monochromatic looks (he didn’t). Zendaya and Florence Pugh were photographed together sending Twitter into a frenzy, and all seemed bliss in the house of Valentino. That was, until, the show actually began. It became increasingly arduous to focus on the gracefully minimal garments in deliciously toned down neutral hues as models hobbled, wobbled and tripped their way around the room. Unfortunately for Piccioli, the conversation surrounding the collection is noticeably not about the clothes.
For his Spring 2023 show, Piccolo decided to do away with tradition and the supermodel, instead casting many models with little to no experience. This is, admittedly, a noble quest and a darling idea to highlight emerging talent. Perhaps, if more rehearsals and practice had taken place, this could have worked flawlessly. Videos going viral on social media show models struggling to figure out the layout of the runway. Another shows one of the models in a full glittering look trying her hardest to stay upright whilst her ankles swayed from side to side, at one point even stopping to try and ask a guest to swap shoes. More footage reveals what happened when the models attempted to leave the end of the runway…they would fall down two steps.
If one model had fallen over, it would make logical sense to place blame on said model and leave it at that. However, at this Paris Fashion Week, we saw a beloved and respected fashion brand send their models out into no man’s land with shoes as thin as sticks and seemingly no run-through. What on earth did they expect to happen? When their most recent show, a dazzling haute couture display on the Spanish Steps in Rome, was such a roaring success this is just depressing.
