valentino, qatar and couture fall 2012

The first thing that I saw this morning when leaving the Liverpool Street tube station on the way to work was the newsflash that Valentino is in talks with the Qatari royal family for the latter to acquire the Valentino Fashion Group from private equity firm Primera.

Of course, we all remember the drama that accompanied the change in ownership in 2007, with Alessandra Fachinetti being sacked after 2 seasons despite an admirable effort to bring some youth to the maison.

Hopefully if the deal follows through, there will be much less turbulence at the creative helm, jointly held by former accessories designers, Pier Paolo Piccioli and Maria Grazia Chiuri. With Valentino's stamp of approval, the brand's return to profits this year and a critically successful fall 2012 couture show, they are more than likely to stay put.