Pierpaolo Piccioli recruited French multimedia artist Mélanie Matranga for the FW20 Valentino Lovers Language collaboration. Perhaps best known as the inaugural winner of the Frieze Artist Award, Matranga uses drawings, sculptures and videos to create “emotional structures” that explore social attitudes, habits and (often awkward) inner thoughts. Fans of her work will recognize phrases like Good Lover, Want Want, and Need Need printed, inlaid, or embroidered over sweatshirts, t-shirts, knits, suits, sneakers and accessories. Her intimate declarations are accentuated by stripping away the color. The 32 menswear pieces are presented in grey, black and white – ton sur ton. The color story is emphasized by the promotional images. Street style superstar Jean-Jacques N’djoli created a series of images at home during quarantine on a monochrome set he designed and built himself. Welcome to the new normal.
Mélanie Matranga X Valentino Lovers Language Capsule now at valentino.com.
