Valentino Sent A Beautifully Diverse Roster Of Models Down Its Runway

It might be the middle of winter, but it was a beautiful day in Paris thanks to Valentino and its creative director Pierpaolo Piccioli.

Piccioli, who’s been at the helm of the iconic brand since 2008, presented its Spring 2022 couture collection at Place Vendôme on Wednesday. That would be pretty par for the fashion industry course, except for its stark departure from what Fashion Week — and, more specifically, haute couture fashion week — usually looks like.

Included in the roster were a diverse mix of models of varying body types and ages. There were models with gray hair and models who wear a size 10. Models who, Piccioli told Vogue, were previously discouraged from even entertaining the possibility of walking in a fashion show like his.

“She was told she’d never walk couture,” he said of one of his models.

Those models and Valentino smashed that sentiment in a stunning way, whether it be through bold bows, subtly sparkly gowns or no-so-subtle statement pieces.

“In runway shows, sometimes there are 50 skinny models and one bigger-sized. I feel like you don’t really relate to that. You don’t believe that. You just tick the box,” Piccioli told Vogue. Instead, he cast 10 models with “differently proportioned bodies,” to the delight of fashion fans and dispelling the notion that it’s too difficult or expensive to design clothes for different body types, an oft-cited excuse for designers unwilling to become more inclusive.

Keep scrolling for a look at some of the show’s gorgeous runway moments.