For the Valentino Pre-Fall 2024 collection, Pierpaolo Piccioli created a tight, curated selection of handsome everyday pieces, crafted with grace and realism, embellished exquisitely with what he called “indulgent embroideries.”

A few couture techniques seen in the spring show were reprised and adapted, the most striking being the high-relief cut-out intarsia the maison’s atelier came up with, that here graced the back of a sharp-cut, fitted gray wool coat. The decoration wasn’t just a visual magnet, rather a sort of built-in structure that defines the garment.

The Valentino signifiers—bows, roses, feathers, lace, scalloped hems—were given a counterintuitive treatment that skimmed the unconventional without straying from the label’s fundamentals. Sharp, masculine tailoring in dry wools and tweeds, mainly in classic shades of slate gray, made the case for flawless, atelier-level cutting techniques, yet bent to the feminine through flattering hourglass shapes and smatterings of lavish crystal embellishments on lapels and cuffs.

The overall luxurious feel of the Valentino Pre-Fall 2024 collection was apparent, which sits well with Valentino’s raison d’être. Yet Piccioli’s idea of luxury is rather more subtle.