Alessandra Facchinetti’s first Valentino collection at Paris Fashion Week

A designer’s first collection after the departure of the house’s originator always draws the rubberneckers waiting to see the young upstart fly or fall. It happened when Yves Saint Laurent took over for Christian Dior in 1957, again when Tom Ford took over at YSL in ‘99, and now as Alessandra Faccinetti takes over for Valentino, the hawk-like eyes of the fashion world are upon her.

Would there be pieces to satisfy both the ladies who lunch and the pretty young things?

Would there be any red carpet worthy gowns?

Would she dabble in Valentino iconography and attempt a red dress?

Yes, yes, and yes.

Her color palette? Muted. Midnight blues, creamy silks, rich oatmeal cashmere — all chicly over black tights.

I loved the cut of her coats. You could choose from a beige cropped coat with a high collar that buttoned on the shoulder and left a V cutout in the front or a more voluminous brown coat with arm cutouts or a simple black coat over a frothy pink dress that spilled out of the neckline and peeked out at the knee.

Facchinetti’s skill is in soft, almost unnoticed details — the belts that nipped in the waist of delicate dresses, the ruffled pleating that gave a modern turn to a filmy, chiffon blouse.

Look, this isn’t Valentino’s Valentino. Alessandra Faccinetti  ushers in a new era and it will be interesting to see how a female designer uses her influence and puts her fingerprint on the Valentino woman.