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ALVIN VALLEY

Alvin Valley's Spring 2004 collection, inspired by the Dada movement that flourished in early Twentieth Century Zurich, had a nonchalantly sexy, undeniably innovative and subtly commanding appeal. The designer's muse, in this case a philosophy which championed the need to approach life with a lighthearted spirit, unleashed a fresh new approach to the art of making clothes. Valley's creations are characterized by sexy silhouettes, expert compositions and great attention to detail, sizzled with intensity, sway and femininity.

Valley proclaimed that while conceptualizing his work he had "a different type of woman in mind. One that is clean cut, polished, and frank. She is not passive, clingy or dependent. And she is not afraid to explore the dark side of her personality." Indeed the designer's sculpted jackets molding the body, supple pants gliding around the curves and lithe dresses revealing without exposing, brimmed with the aura of poised empowerment. My personal favorites were the intricately tailored brocade boleros, linen lurex tap pants (dripping with the beauty of Spanish sensuality's royal marriage to Victorian nostalgia) and high-waist Swiss cotton eyelet insert pants with corsets. However a Dada print silk chiffon asymmetrical dress, which emerged at the very end of the show, was undeniably the crown jewel of Valley's vision, for it epitomized the very essence of the designer's artistry and craftsmanship. Adorned with elaborate embroideries and stitched on circular doré patches, this dress exuded poignant elegance, daring sexuality and timeless sophistication.

When Fashionlines spoke with the designer backstage before the show he told us that he set out "to translate clothes into a new sexy language." He envisioned this season's Valley woman to be a "self assured, confident individual, who does not have time for pretension." Having seen his collection I can confirm with conviction that Alvin Valley successfully created a delightfully coy yet serious, flirtatiously feminine yet classy look by eliminating the superfluous and focusing on cut and construction.





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