Giambattista Valli

“My clothes are for the international jet set. They are very much for the red carpet.”

“The hardest thing in fashion is not to be known for a logo, but to be known for a silhouette.”

“Rome holds my psyche in balance. Whenever I'm there, it's like a holiday.”

“Capucci was the biggest schooling I had. It wasn't just about the technical knowledge, such as color and volume, but also about the secret rules, and the beautiful codes of respect between the atelier and the master.”

“I want a woman to feel the cut of the scissors in the clothes.”

“I'm a label that wants to sell. I believe in clothes.”

“The problem is that resuscitating old labels doesn't work anymore. I think it is very important to give hope to a new generation of designers, so that one day they really can put their own names out there.”

“I don't shop. I buy things that inspire me, that give me emotion.”

“I like things that are kind of eclectic, when one thing doesn't go with another. That's why I love Rome. The town itself is that way. It's where Fascist architecture meets classic Renaissance, where the ancient bangs up against the contemporary. It has a touch of everything. That's my style, and that's what my work is about.”

“I have made bouquets of pleats, bouquets of flowers, bouquets of ruffles, bouquets of feathers. Often I design in mousseline, held tightly around the waist, and with something else going on all around.”

“At Ungaro, I discovered the flou and the language of Paris.”