Today marks the first day of the menswear edition of Paris Fashion Week, and FYI, it’s been a busy day, with a tap dancer opening the show at Off-White, a whole bunch of balloons at Y/Project, and presentations from Raf Simons and Undercover yet to come. 

Also showing us what he has in store for AW20 when it comes to the boys was Pierpaolo Piccioli at Valentino – where a v special guest turned up. Step forward FKA twigs, who performed track “mary magdalene” wearing head-to-toe, jewel-encrusted Valentino (we mean, what else?), closely followed by “cellophane”. Backing her up was a live pianist and cellist, so, as you can imagine, the whole thing was pretty moving. 

When it came to the collection, this season was a subdued affair, with black overcoats and white shirts embellished with sequined fringing which spelled out the word ‘need’ (j’want), classic tailoring emblazoned with floral motifs, and trenches bearing the Valentino logo. With a series of large tote bags also amongst the offering, some looks were finished with mini side bags embossed with Vs, further proving the handbag is no longer consigned to just womenswear. Some models also wore flowers in their hair. 

As the show closed, Piccioli took his final lap of the runway hand in hand with twigs, as the likes of Luka Sabbat, Evan Mock, and rising musician Ama Lou applauded enthusiastically. Over to you, Raf Simons: let’s see what you’ve got.