The New York designer skipped Oscar-viewing this year, thwarting our plans to turn him into Joan Rivers. But Valvo, in Seattle to promote his couture collection and attend a charity fundraiser, played along when we sat down with him at the Bellevue Square Nordstrom and urgently requested spring fashion advice.
Q: Color dominated a lot of collections for spring. What's your favorite for the season?
A: I really like yellow. We did a lot of yellow, tangeriney orange. We did this orangey coral, too. It looks good with neutrals, and it also looks good with black.
Q: What are the quickest ways to update our closets for spring?
A: I would do something yellow or orange, something in a citrus shade for sure. I also would get some incredible platform wedges to have for the beach or to run around in a dress. And also an oversize, floppy hat, a rattan hat, any straw rattan. There are some really cute ones out there. The hat is becoming more stylish. It's becoming a fashion item again.
Q: What inspired your spring 2008 couture collection?
A: The inspiration was all about the ocean, sea shells. I tried to work in an organic, almost origamilike manner, kind of emulating the spiral motion of a shell. The color palate is very ocean, blue, shades of midnight, cerulean blue, coral, tan and pale, pale yellow. A lot of color actually, but sophisticated color.
Q: You have at least one feathered cocktail dress here from your fall collection. Should we be preparing ourselves for a feather onslaught?
A: There were so many feathers for fall. There was not a pheasant or emu or an ostrich [feather] left. It was all about feathers. It was pretty crazy.
Q: You were in the same tent at Fashion Week as Bravo's "Project Runway." Are you hooked on the show?
A: This business is so crazy. Everyone's like, "Why do you watch it?" But I'm able to laugh at myself while laughing at them and the whole process. It's kind of like therapy.
Q: What kind of dresses are the best for a black-tie fundraiser?
A: If I was hosting an event, I would wear ivory. At a formal event, traditionally there's a lot of black gowns and midnight, chocolate, sophisticated colors for a sophisticated group of women. If you want to stand out in a crowd ... wear something that's totally unexpected and wear ivory.
