Piccioli challenges catwalk’s last taboo by casting Valentino show with models of average size

Valentino looked dreamier than ever on more relatable bodies, which may prompt other designers to follow suit

Nothing is more radical in fashion than an even slightly rounded thigh or tummy. At Paris haute couture fashion week, Valentino challenged the catwalk’s last taboo by using models whose bodies were mostly close to average size, rather than super skinny. With the elegant understatement for which his dresses are known, designer Pierpaolo Piccioli observed simply that he “thought it was time for a change.”

The enduring hegemony of the size zero ideal in fashion has been obscured by the trend for using one or two token ‘plus size’ models in a show – often dressed in longer, looser garments than their slender colleagues, lest their flesh offend. Here, by contrast, leather-look satin hugged normal-sized curves, and sharp thigh-high splits in silk faille skirt flashed glimpses of soft thigh. Bustier dress met skin with a hint of softly oozing flesh, rather than with the clang of zipper against shoulderblade.