Mirror Mirror on the Wall ... RED Valentino FW2014 Collection

Snow White is the new fashion icon ― perhaps the new symbol of Pop culture, judging from Roy Lichtenstein-esque pop art treatment on the runway background. 

For the upcoming fall/winter collection, RED Valentino is giving one of Disney’s well-loved characters a reinterpretation of style. Well, there’s a shorter term for it actually and it is called a makeover. 

In this collection, Snow White’s character has been given a new lease of life ― not as a princess who ran away from her evil stepmother and settled down in a cottage with the seven dwarves. 

Rather, she is a teenager or a free-spirited youth with outgoing persona, a profound interest in dressing up and sets the style benchmark among her peers. Definitely not a rebellious one and I could assure you of that. 
 

Gone is her classic uniform – the unforgettable yellow sateen long-skirted dress with blue square-necked and billowy sleeved dress; red cape attached to the back. 

In is a coterie of youthful modern looks that are practical but still imbued with nuances of her celebrated style. 

Apart from adapting Snow White’s colour palette of blue, yellow and red, the collection is also doused in black, graphic stripes and heart patterns.   
 

The direction of the collection is pretty much geared towards daywear as the silhouettes are rather relaxed and not body-conscious. 

Moreover, the collection seemed to be made for spring/summer instead of fall/winter due to the plethora of bright, popping colours. But heck, who would be wearing a puffer jacket in summer when the temperature could rise up to a scorching 40-degree Celsius?

The opening piece – a rounded square-necked top with Peter Pan collar in black – is simply effortless and matched with a simple leather purse with the quote “Once Upon A Time” scribbled across it. 

As 90s is considered as the new vintage, some pieces are imbued with references from the era. For instance, the lucid rubber trench coat that used to be one of the greatest fashion hits back in the mid-90s, ditto the denim button-down dress with two breast pockets and roll-up sleeves.

The combination of heart print varsity jacket and matching top with a yellow skirt creates a notion that Snow White, in her current incarnation, is perhaps  the head of a high school cheerleading squad or a sorority girl if she was in a university or college. A metallic clutch screaming “The Fairest of Them All” cements her status as the school’s inevitable Queen Bee.

 
Hearts and stripes aside, the pop art version of Snow White and apple illustration also serves as the focal point of the collection, adorning bodices of the dresses. 

Other graphic references of Snow White that liberally pepper the collection, especially the bags include her red bow and luscious red apples. 

Speaking of bags, RED Valentino fans could look forward to an enticing assortment of roomy bags that are perfect for weekend outings or attending classes on weekdays.

Also, invest in a chic apple-shaped clutch richly adorned with black sequin embellishment in the form of a skull. Well, remember the scene when the queen – later a witch – dipped the red apple into her potion and the potion that drenches the apple formed the shape of a green skull? 

Yes, that is the pattern on the bag that I am talking about. Don’t forget to include the iconic red bow, too!

Red Valentino fall/winter 2014 collection will be available at all RED Valentino stores, selected fine department stores and multi-brand boutiques globally this autumn. 

*Images courtesy of RED Valentino/Style.com

RED Valentino – UG2, Adorn Floor, Starhill Gallery, 181 Jalan Bukit Bintang, 55100 Kuala Lumpur.