Christy Turlington and Crew in Valentino, by Herb Ritts for Vanity Fair US F/W 1995.96
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Christy Turlington and Crew in Valentino, by Herb Ritts for Vanity Fair US F/W 1995.96 AOC Style Photos
Italian luxury brand Valentino is making headlines today, with news that the maison’s creative director Pierpaolo Piccioli has come to the end of his Valentino tenure after 25 years.
Related: Pierpaolo Piccioli's Humanist-Focus Chapter Ends at Maison Valentino AOC Daily
The Italian humanist was not a member of the Maison Valentino family in 1995, when esteemed photographer Herb Ritts [IG] created this series of elegant but sensually provocative images of the Valentino F/W 1995.96 collection for Vanity Fair US.
Supermodel Christy Turlington was joined by Gregg Avedon, Rick Dietz, Scott King, and Patrick Lau [missing one] in this Valentino campaign spread in Vanity Fair US September 1995 issue.
AOC wonders if fashion scholars have explored this transition of sexual mores, especially within the Italian brands, who historically and geographically lived closer to the Levant-based lands of the goddess worship that predated monotheism.
What is true is that the woman is the center of this ritualistic fashion ritual, captured for Valentino in 1995 by Herb Ritts.
Gianni Versace was well-informed factually and intuitively of this reality, along with Valentino Garavani. Also, we should not assume that there is sexual tension between the men in real life — although both of these examples are highly suggestive and filled with erotic tension.
Related: Fast forward almost 20 years, and a similarly-erotic, uptown-woman with male friends luxury fashion story appeared in Document Journal featuring Karlie Kloss.
Karlie Kloss Makes Private Arrangements By Collier Schorr for Doc. N.246 2013 AOC Style Photos
The visual changes in fashion’s relationship with male and female bodies together and in other erotic combinations has been dramatic in the last decade.
We are so far away from this overtly sultry and suggestive imagery that it’s difficult to imagine its return in 2024. The most common sensual message today is dominated by the LGBTQ-AI community defining and playing out all sexual roles and gender identification.
AOC remains deeply disturbed by the actions taken by the community to write the word “women” out of laws across America. Let’s just say that AOC supports the legal rights of the LGBTQ-AI community to the max. The same fervor does not seem to exist in reverse — although the threat of a return of Trump, the overturn of Roe and demands to make contraception illegal in America has caused some mellowing of their strident political views on cisgender women.
Personally, this Valentino ad campaign reminds me of why I kinda liked the lay of the land better for women in 1995. LOL. AND, why I kissed the ground when my plane landed in Italy. Sending love. ~ Anne
