Pierpaolo Piccioli gave Valentino‘s signature rockstud a facelift for its newest collection. The Italian fashion house showed its spring ’22 line during Paris Fashion Week on Friday, which included a range of sandals decorated with different versions of the iconic hardware.
While Valentino is typically known for the small spikes on its shoes, Piccioli designed flats, including a suede gladiator style, that was adorned with a solo, oversized stud. He told WWD that the iconic look originated on the doors of Roman palazzos. “It’s interesting to see something that you already know with different eyes, with a different perspective,” he said.
The single hardware was also spotted on Valentino’s spring handbags.
In another flat strappy sandal, larger rockstuds were used in metallic gold, and for an additional gladiator thong sandal, the rockstud could be seen covering the entire knee-high lace ups. Also in the collection was a rockstud EVA slide sandal.
“My challenge is to make the brand relevant for this moment without losing the codes of the house,” Piccioli added in conversation with WWD. “But I don’t think you have to do streetwear to embrace a different world.”
As for the ready-to-wear, Valentino presented colorful ensembles featuring flowing purple maxi dresses, fuschia mini dresses, suits, bomber jackets and blouses.
This wasn’t the first time the fashion house updated the rockstud. For spring ’21, a new look appeared on the runway via flats, gladiator-style mules or a kitten heel pump at Milan Fashion Week with bigger versions of the spikes, called the RomanStud.
To see the entire Valentino spring 2022 collection at Paris Fashion Week, click through the gallery.
Reporting by WWD executive editor, Europe, Miles Socha.
