The Staggering Girl

“Last summer, I had the privilege of meeting Pierpaolo Piccioli in Rome at Valentino’s headquarters in Palazzo Mignanelli. Pierpaolo, whose extraordinary artistry as a couturier I have long admired, guided me through the Haute Couture atelier. The Fall/Winter 2018–19 collection emerged from the tireless and sublime craftsmanship of the Première, the seamstresses and the tailors. During that meeting, Pierpaolo and I decided to attempt something we had never done before: to create a film inspired by a Haute Couture collection. The artistic and emotional depth of Pierpaolo Piccioli’s work — its transformative power — became our “text,” like a great novel on which to base the screenplay of this imagined film. From that encounter, and from the creative triangulation between Pierpaolo Piccioli, the brilliant screenwriter Michael Mitnick, and myself, this short film was born.”