Man vs. Machine at Giambattista Valli

Valli felt most connected to the postwar Metabolist movement of Japan, a movement organized by the balance of industrial and artisanal design, the power of the machine and the hand. The designer set out to create a collection that wholly expressed this juxtaposition of the importance of both the machine and the hand. Valli gives us dainty, lady-like dresses and skirts with macramé lace, handmade fringe, and feather-like appliques made from sheer fabrics. Dressy, halter-style tops feature expertly executed cutouts and large scalloped edging. Pale pink coats are structural with sharp collars and boxy pocket flaps, offering a sweet suggestion to an otherwise durable construction. A short skirt and top combo feature many different puzzle pieces of textures and textiles that invoke a modern, abstract work of art. Whatever Valli set out to prove with the correlation between man and machine—consider us believers.