Pier Paolo Piccioli

The fall couture shows ended last week, with successful collections from established designers like Karl Lagerfeld at Chanel to newer, more experimental collections from the likes of Iris van Herpen. Countries like Germany, France, Italy, and Belgium all had talent represented on the runways. But if you're looking for a great American name in haute couture, you're going to have to dig deeper.

After several seasons dedicated to Victorian-inspired elegance, Valentino designers Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pierpaolo Piccioli moved onto something a tad more adventurous--whilst remaining true to their taste for 19th century beauty ideals.

Valentino is on the selling block, and could go for as much as $852 million. After drawing rave reviews for couture, the Italian label is reportedly preparing for a sale to an unknown buyer, according to WWD. But it's a good thing for Valentino.

PARIS--After weeks of being presented with more challenging, boxy, and sometimes oversized silhouettes, it was so nice and even refreshing to take in Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pier Paolo Piccioli ultra-feminine, just plain pretty fall collection. Sumptuous soft black leather toughened up the pretty a bit--on a cape, a skirt, and a gorgeous leather jump suit to open the show.

PARIS--One of the most difficult tasks in fashion is how to evolve an established brand--in this case the venerable house of Valentino and its tremendous couture heritage--into something relevant. In the two and a half years since their first couture outing, designers Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pier Paolo Piccioli’s vocabulary at Valentino has been a back and forth debate regarding how much respect must be paid to the house’s history. At Wednesday morning’s fall couture show at the Hôtel Salomon de Rothschild, the designers were able to strike this delicate balance. The Valentino craftsmanship and many of the house’s codes--laces, sheer chiffon and ruffles--were all present, but reworked in new and subtle ways. This collection of day and evening clothes that demonstrated the designer’s command of the house’s direction.

Long Nguyen is the co-founder/style director of Flaunt. PARIS--“Sportswear is the modern uniform, and we are trying to create sportswear with the feeling of traditional craftsmanship. Valentino has a heritage of couture, but we must make that part of the new world,” said Pier Paolo Piccioli at the quiet lunchtime presentation of the Valentino men’s collection, which took place in the brand's the sumptuous Place Vendôme office. Rather than a fashion show, designers Maria Grazia Chuiri and Piccioli personally narrated how specific pieces were made and spoke of evolving Valentino menswear into a modern, relaxed, luxurious collection. The collection was mainly individual garments of graphic and linear jackets, boxy military outerwear and slim trousers and denim in dark olive green, camel, charcoal and white. Each piece can be layered over one another in any casual or dressed up manner.

PARIS--"Pretty" sounds like a reductive descriptor for Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pier Paolo Piccioli fall 2011 collection for Valentino, but it's apt. "Pretty" over gorgeous or stunning or any other hyperbolic adjective because the collection was restrained, delicate, feminine, and, well, pretty--right down to the flowers appliqued to the necklines of dresses. A twinkly soundtrack reflected the preciousness of the dresses (less so when an awful version of "Missing" by Everything But the Girl was mixed in).

"Are they screaming J.Lo," asked the girl next to me. "God I hope not. I think they're screaming 'Let's Go!'" We're inside la Halle Freyssinet, a