view the full collection in our Photo Gallery
story by Sia-Alika Battle
photos by Stephen F. Bodi
web editor Rachel Reneé
The Carmen Marc Valvo Fall 2012 collection is inspired by the Femme Fatales of Old Hollywood, tough cookies like Lauren Bacall, Barbara Stanwyck and Veronica Lake. These ladies were smart and beautiful and never needed to play coy. You see this attitude within the Carmen Marc Valvo Fall 2012 Collection. For years, designers have looked to film noir for inspiration, but Carmen Marc Valvo has created an innovative collection employing those nods to the past with modern sensibilities and high end textiles. His designs feature classic lines with fashion forward fabrications.
Python was used as both a material and inspiration for an embroidered pattern featured on separates, cocktail dresses and gowns. Mr. Valvo is always pushing himself to use new methods.
“We did a lot of fabric splicing this time. For the double-face wool, you have to cut it with a razor and sew it back.”
The coats in the collection were all stand outs. Timeless pieces, which would be perfect additions to the wardrobe of any woman from 20 to 80. There was the Black Cashmere and Leather coat if you want to make an edgy statement. The archetypal Camel Hair Coat was reinvented with contemporary Double-Face Cashmere to reach a new level of elegance and sophistication.
This year Mr. Valvo created cocktail dresses and evening gowns that did not utilize any built-in corseting. His legendary attention to tailoring and structure are all that is needed to create a silhouette with the sultry allure of timeless star glamour. Well heeled women from Monte Carlo to New York to Los Angeles can slip into his creations as easily as a pair of jeans and be “Dressed to Perfection” –the title of a new book by Carmen Marc Valvo.
