The news broke this afternoon that Pier Paolo Piccioli is leaving Maison Valentino after 25 years. Indeed, the continuous turnover of creative directors (almost all men) seems unabated, and by now, we no longer ask ourselves big questions about why these announcements keep coming. Among all, the news of Dries Van Noten‘s (surely softer) withdrawal from fashion seems one of the least traumatic transitions. Reflecting on what Pier Paolo Piccioli leaves us with – after eight years at the helm of Valentino’s Creative Direction – we immediately think of the iconic Pink PP.
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Just two years ago, it all began with the collaboration with the Pantone Color Institute and the Fall-Winter 2022-2023 Collection. Pier Paolo Piccioli’s Pink PP, vibrant and present, then turned into a true phenomenon of pop culture. At the time, chromatic standardization was nothing but an experimental gesture capable of enhancing individuality, summarizing values and feelings. Then came Barbie, with other shades of pink capturing attention, but we can certainly credit Piccioli with the privilege of being the first to think of short-circuiting the world of fashion by thinking in pink (shock) after Schiaparelli.
«Not all stories have a beginning and an end, some live in a kind of eternal present that shines with an intense light, so strong as to leave no shadows. I have been in this company for 25 years, and for 25 years I have existed and lived together with the people who, with me, have woven the threads of this beautiful story that is mine and ours.» This is how Pier Paolo Piccioli’s statement begins, released in the press release accompanying the announcement, followed by the usual thanks. A heartfelt farewell that once again puts us in front of a fashion landscape in continuous movement, almost anxiety-inducing, where nothing is forever. Not even the supremacy of pink.
