From Rome To Paris: Valli's Way

Even after almost two decades in the French capital, designer Giambattista Valli who hails from Rome - says that he still doesn't see himself as a Frenchman.

"Do you know, even after 16 years, I don't think of myself as French - but wouldn't say I think of myself as Italian either," he confided. "When I'm working I'm Parisian, definitely, but when I'm off I'd say I'm Roman. I don't think of myself in terms of nationality. I'm independent!"

Valli, in London to sign copies of his impressive forthcoming monograph  at Dover Street Market, enlisted some of his friends and fans (who he calls Valli Girls) to contribute to the Rizzoli-published book. A power list - including actress Diane Kruger, fellow designer Maria Silvia Venturini Fendi, and ItalianVogue editor Franca Sozzani - added touches, from editing sketches to annotating sections; even the paper that the book is printed on has been subject to intense aesthetic consideration, creating the lightest hardback book possible. No more than one might expect from one of the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture's newest couturiers, famous for his frothy feather-light creations.

His face is enlivened as he speaks about the debate surrounding the future of couture, invariably residing in two camps - those who think that designers should create an extravaganza to give the world a vision of the house, like John Galliano at Christian Dior; and those who believe that designers should make wearable clothes that can be worn by real women, in the mould of Galliano's Dior successor Raf Simons, or arguably the founder himself. Valli's aesthetic, otherworldly yet simple, places him squarely on the fence.

"John [Galliano] is an extremely inspiring man for me, he always was," Valli nodded. "To make clothes with dreams behind them is what couture is about. But, for me, it is about moments with these real women. These incredible women are part of my story - inspiring me, encouraging me, listening to me - they are the people who experiment with me; who wear my clothes. They are part of the process."

So, independent as he is, would one of the biggest jobs in his adopted city - at the helm of Louis Vuitton now Marc Jacobs has stepped down - tempt him?

"You must be faithful to yourself," he said with the wry smile of a man who's been there and done that. "Of course, I'd talk to a house like that, it's respectful, but freedom is a luxury in this time. And in the end, I stay with Valli."