Three New Models to Know From Valentino Couture

Under the direction of Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pierpaolo Piccioli, Valentino’s model ethos centers on ethereal glamour and youthful beauty. The focus on youth makes Valentino one of the most interesting shows to watch for newer models, and its recent couture show provided several girls with a thrilling runway moment in the heart of Rome. Get to know three new models who made their debut at Valentino’s Couture extravaganza.

Back in 2013, Léa Julian was a fresh-faced finalist in the French round of Elite Model Look, and since then she’s been busy testing, prepping, and getting ready for a runway debut. Off-duty, Julian is a skilled pianist and gets her grace from the years she spent studying modern dance back home in Toulouse. Valentino marked her very first show, but Julian hopes for a career akin to that of her favorite model, Cara Delevingne.

Fashion runs in the family for Luz Sanchez—her mother, Violeta, was a model and muse to luminaries like Helmut Newton, Guy Bourdin, and Yves Saint Laurent. Sanchez made her campaign debut alongside her mother in Lanvin’s Spring 2015 ads, but she’s been waiting for the right runway moment. With a debut at Valentino Couture, Sanchez follows in her mother’s footsteps—Mom was a regular on Garavani’s runway in the ’80s.

Yasmin Wijnaldum’s official couture debut happened at Jean Paul Gaultier’s whimsical showing earlier in the week, but her presence at Valentino warrants a mention. Graduating from high school less than a month ago, Wijnaldum quickly distinguished herself from the pack. Editorial appearances in her native Amsterdam pushed her into the spotlight, but the double whammy of two key shows is sure to make her a most-wanted commodity come the Spring womenswear shows in September.

Viktor & Rolf Are Giving Away an Haute Couture Piece

In the past decade, the reach of haute couture clothing has increased exponentially: Thanks to live-streams, ceaseless Instagram coverage, and increased press, those finely crafted gowns are now viewed by an ever-widening group of fashion fans. Even so, the number of people who actually get to see haute couture in real life, or even own of piece of it, is startlingly small. Viktor & Rolf are aiming to change that, and democratize the practice along the way, by giving away an haute couture art piece.

Partnering with Instagrammer @IsabellaVirtual, the design duo is encouraging followers to create a work of art, take a photo of it, and upload the photo to Instagram with the hashtag #ViktorAndRolfArtAuction by July 14. Designers Viktor Horsting and Rolf Snoeren will then personally select a winner, who will receive an haute couture piece of art inspired by the house’s Fall 2015 collection as his or her prize. Whether or not the winner tries to don the artwork as a garment similar to the painting-cum-dresses shown on the V&R catwalk, however, will be up to them.

Since Viktor & Rolf shuttered its ready-to-wear business, a couture contest is a useful way to continue to get V&R products into the hands of consumers. (The house’s fragrance business already does that on the beauty side of things wildly successfully.) While the theme of the giveaway ties in directly to the house’s Fall couture collection, the number of entrants they’ve garnered in just an hour might suggest that continuing the giveaway for seasons to come would be a good idea. A little more haute couture in the real world can’t hurt.

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