Now the rumor mills are getting more grist with the news that Giambattista Valli may be bumping fellow Italian Alessandra Facchinetti from her post as designer of the house of Valentino.
Last year when Valentino Garavani finally threw in the (vibrant red-colored) towel, the question of who would assume the mantle of the legendary designer was talked about in every corner. Valli, who has been designing his own collection for three years and worked at Krizia and Emanuel Ungaro before that, was a name tossed around as a possible successor, but the post was given to Facchinetti, rescuing her from semi-obscurity designing exquisitely beautiful winter-proof coats that had very little reach for Moncler. [In a bit of fashion irony, Valli replaced Facchinetti at Moncler, and continues to design for his eponymous line.]
Facchinetti showed her first collection for Valentino in February, and it was met with tepid reviews. After her haute couture show fared better this past summer, Facchinetti, who cut her teeth as the right-hand to Tom Ford during the Gucci years, must now show investors that she has a firm grasp on both Valentino’s vision and what women want to buy. So far, things have been a bit shaky.
Valli, for his part, says that all rumors are mere flattery, but with his strong show of floaty, feminine, confident dresses (see above), he is an obvious choice if Facchinetti keeps the number-crunchers munching their fingernails.
