fashion
Valentino Womens Campaign FW 19-20
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Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin are a Dutch fashion photographer/director duo who have been working together since 1986. The Dutch partnership rose to fame in the early 90s due to their approach of challenging traditional fashion photography. Experimenting with the latest digital imaging technologies, their early work captured the imagination of art critics, who were mesmerized by the sophisticated interplay of elegance and horror. The pair met whilst studying at the Art Academy in Amsterdam and following careers in and around fashion, began working together formerly. They are regular contributors to Vogue Paris, Purple Magazine, W Magazine and V Magazine amongst many others and have created advertising campaigns for brands including Yves Saint Laurent, Christian Dior, Gucci, Chloë, Givenchy, Balenciaga, Chanel, and Roberto Cavalli.
With his long-time creative partner Maria Grazia Chiuri , Pierpaolo Piccioli has overseen Valentino’s creative direction for eight years, during which time they modernised its couture DNA to fit the contemporary consumer and boosted annual revenue to $1 billion in 2015. As of July 2016, when Chiuri decamped to Dior, Piccioli is Valentino’s sole creative director. An alumnus of Rome’s Istituto Europeo di Design , Piccioli first met Chiuri through a mutual friend in the early 1980s. In 1989, he began working alongside her in Fendi’s accessories department, marking the beginning of a two-decade creative partnership. In 1999 the pair moved to Valentino as accessory designers. They revamped the luxury brand’s handbag and eyewear collections, were put in charge of designing the brand's diffusion line Red Valentino in 2003, and later oversaw its entire accessories range. Then, shortly after Valentino Garavani ’s retirement in 2008, and following Alessandra Facchinetti 's year-long tenure as creative director, Chiuri and Piccioli were appointed co-creative directors. Though still a red carpet favourite, Valentino was struggling to reclaim the international cachet it once had. Chiuri and Piccioli pushed Valentino back to the forefront of fashion, breathing new creative energy into the brand, revitalising its menswear business and growing its accessories division with blockbuster styles like the Rockstud. In 2015, Chiuri and Piccioli received the CFDA International Award. In July 2016, when Chiuri was appointed artistic director of Dior, Piccioli became Valentino’s sole creative director. Since heading up the fashion house solo the brand has seen large success — his Autumn/Winter 2018 haute couture for the house received a standing ovation.