THE GENIUS OF GIAMBATTISTA Tulle, Taffeta and Triumph

In a deeply personal conversation with Alaira Tirtha Shetty, sartorial rule-breaker Giambattista Valli opens up on his creative dream, the power of beauty and why India will always be his “mother teacher”

- Alaira Tirtha Shetty

With ten years of haute couture, 17 years of ready-to-wear, and a fan base ranging from Amal Clooney and Angelina Jolie to Deepika Padu-kone and Alia Bhatt, Italian designer Giambattista Valli is a clear favourite world over. His designs have always been experiential, eclipsing sensorial dimensions. We aren’t far from the truth when we say that he believes fashion is more than what sits on you but rather harnesses the power to feel and embody oneself. In an exclusive conversation with Alaira Tirtha Shetty for ELLE India, Valli says, “A dress is not even a dress. It’s about a concept, a philosophy, a story. The dress is part of the story, but it’s not the story. The story is about the woman wearing the dress. When you see the dress on the hanger, you want to smell, touch, and wear it. Then went you put it on, you must engage in dialogue with it.” Edited excerpts from the interview:

ELLE: HOW DID YOU FALL IN LOVE WITH THE WORLD OF CREATIVITY AND DESIGN?

GIAMBATTISTA VALLI (GBV): The obsession began from the moment I started to look at the world. My first love was for beauty, when I was five or six years old, I was just obsessed with beauty, and this transformed into the idea of fashion and creating clothes. My biggest inspiration or muse is my curiosity. Art and travel are obsessions of mine and have always been. But it can also be a moment, a gesture, a woman, an image... ultimately, everything is related to my experience of now, the present itself.