If you had any thoughts that Valentino being left in the hands of the house's longtime accessories designers Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pier Paolo Piccioli was something the higher-ups would try to sweep past as quickly as possible, think again.
The pair's first collection as (temporary?) creative directors for Valentino - Spring 09 Couture which hits the runway tomorrow night at 6:30 local time - will be streamed live at three different Valentino boutiques in Paris, Rome and Milan (obviously, we're betting it'll hit the internet, too).
Valentino's promising that the streaming aspect will add an "urban and sophisticated, dreamlike and digital dimension," which is quite a change of pace from last season's Facchinetti couture, which was widely described as "quiet" and "graceful".
So does a celebrated entrance mark the beginning of the new longstanding tastemakers at Valentino? Guess we'll know by Thursday morning - Valentino's people will certainly make their true feelings known.
