Valentino’s Boot Couture Collection
Photos courtesy of Bergdorf Goodman
Valentino's Boot Couture Collection; available at Bergdorf Goodman
They may have their hands full designing ready to wear and couture, but with a background in trimmings—they helmed Valentino’s accessories team for 10 years—the fashion house’s creative directors, Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pierpaolo Piccioli, still take every opportunity they get to indulge in shoes.
The fruits of their latest labor are indeed indulgent: The Boot Couture Collection, a selection of hand-crafted knee-high boots. Sure, they run in the four figures (from $1,295 to $2,395)—but the footwear is truly a work of art. Each style was produced in a run of less than 15 pairs, which are sold exclusively at Bergdorf Goodman.
“This is a great opportunity for us because this shoe floor is very iconic,” Piccioli told FashionEtc during a personal appearance at the high-end department store. “In New York, there’s jogging in Central Park, midnight at Boom Boom, and the second floor at Bergdorfs!”
The boots come in two styles, lace and hand-painted python. “We like to use materials like lace in a different way,” said Chiuri. “For the Valentino brand, lace is very iconic, but the shape is a very daytime shape.”
“Lace is very secretive,” added Piccioli. “Beauty today is something you have to guess—it’s not something that you show off. Beauty has some secrets. You don’t know exactly what it is—but it’s something that attracts you.”
Those who find the couture-style boots a bit too extravagant can opt for the simpler leather version, available in rich colors like one Chiuri calls “rouge-noir.”
“Rouge-noir is a new color that we’re using a lot for the collection,” she said. “Valentino’s signature is red, but we are in some ways a black generation, so we put black in the red! We think it’s a new black in some ways.”
If the new Valentino says so, we’re on board.
