Giambattista Valli to Join Haute Couture Club

Italian designer Giambattista Valli is to join the exclusive club of haute couture fashion, showing a spring-summer collection in Paris next month.

Paris commission including existing haute couture labels has awarded the 45-year-old designer the coveted appellation, France's fashion federation said in a statement ahead of the January 23-26 shows.

Valli showed a first couture collection in Paris in July, as a guest member invited by existing couture houses.

Haute couture exists only in Paris, where it is a legally protected appellation subject to strict criteria such as the amount of work carried out by hand, the limited number of pieces and the size of a house's workforce.