It is Jacopo Venturini, the new CEO of Valentino, who speaks out, also speaking for the Creative Director Pierpaolo Piccioli, on the reasons behind the closure of the now historic second line of the Maison, Red Valentino, launched for the first time in 2003, almost 20 years ago.
In fact, Venturini announces that the Valentino brand foresees, for the next few years, a return to its origins, a refocusing on the priorities of the roman Maison and a total channeling of energies towards the front line, to restore Valentino to its ancient splendor, abandoning second lines and distractions.
“The inputs to which our customers, or friends of the house, are exposed to every day are many. In this scenario, the concentration on one, and only one brand, will better support a more organic growth of the maison.” Says the CEO.
The same line of thought seems to have united many fashion houses in the last period. Could it be the economic slowdown of recent years that has decreed the death of the second lines? Or maybe this long pandemic pause has actually awakened the desire for rebirth and concentration in the historic Maisons towards the realignment of objectives?
Although we leave the reasons for our unfounded hypotheses, it is a fact that the second lines seem to have been a long, but passing trend, which is now suffering the inevitable end of an experiment that began in the great boom for the fashion sector among 90s and early 2000s and which now sees interest waning.
They are an example of the brands involved in the same fate Dolce and Gabbana with the closure of the historic second line D&G, Marc Jacobs with Marc by Marc Jacobs, Versace with Versus etc. etc.
In short, the second lines, the so-called “diffusion lines“, designed to democratize the inaccessibility of luxury, take a step back, returning to conceive fashion as the elitist entity of “fake it till you make it” with a single line, image and status.
Obviously the case of Red Valentino confirms the trend line towards the return to the mono line embraced by different brands, but it is good to remember that there are and always will be exceptions. There are many very successful second lines that do not hint at disappearing, just think of MiuMiu by Prada, DKNY, See by Chloè.
Returning, however, to the Valentino news, the closure of Red is not the only burning news announced on the changes front of the Maison, it seems, in fact, that starting from FW 22 also the Valentino fur section will be closed, giving up definitively (and finally!) to furs. Not one of the luckiest timing coincidences for Valentino to have bought the Polar Fur Company in 2018, making fur production internal, but certainly splendid news for the protection of animal rights.
Well, as much as we are embittered by the news of the closure of Red Valentino (and a little less of fur), perhaps the time has come, for fashion, to rethink new strategies, to shed some light, to avoid waste and to devote attention and care to a single well-structured project instead of fomenting overproduction and excesses, on the other hand it is sometimes good to remember that “Less is more”.
To know more:
Red Valentino and Valentino on Instagram
Red Valentino and Valentino Website
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