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Those ethereal shapes gleaming from the darkened windows of Saks Fifth Avenue? Oh yes, that's the Valentino Spring/Summer 2010 collection, designed by Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pier Paolo Piccioli. If you walk quickly by, you might not even notice the collection, creatively lit by glowing dress forms, but stopping for just a moment might turn into ten minutes as you peer at these creations.
Shirts are so sheer, lace so fragile and beading so delicate that it looks as though whole outfits are one strong exhalation away from disintegration. The underlit displays works wonders, and are best viewed at night, but they also highlight the fact that this clothing is not very wearable for those not keen to show off their hoo-ha or underlayer with basics.
Thanks to the Saks windows, this Valentino collection is more easily imagined in a museum than on a real body.
· Valentino at Saks [Saks Fifth Ave]