Tatler on the acquisition of Pinaree Sanpitak X Valentino collaboration

17 Jan 2024

Introduced at Valentino’s spring/summer 2023 fashion show, the Toile Iconographe canvas, designed by creative director Pierpaolo Piccioli, has swiftly become iconic. Marked by a mesmerising repetition of the renowned “V” logo, the monogram encapsulates the essence of freedom and creative possibilities. This distinctive emblem has transcended fashion, making its mark in the art world through Valentino’s collaboration with Thai artist Pinaree Sanpitak last year.

Titled Breast Stupas Valentino, commissioned for Art SG during Singapore Art Week, the collaboration features Pinaree Sanpitak’s signature breast sculptures reimagined in Valentino’s iconic print. Exhibiting a nuanced approach to materials, Sanpitak’s work symbolises femininity and motherhood, celebrating liberation through the maison’s “V” logo. Conversing with the environment that surrounds it, Breast Stupas Valentino expands and rediscovers—becoming a symbol of diversity and a multitude of possibilities.

“It is a celebration of the body as the site of the sacred and the sensual,” says Sanpitak of her artwork. “I see the Valentino Toile Iconographe on the bodies of models and on my own sculptures in a similar view to the maison’s values of freedom, community, inclusivity.”

Following a period of installation at the Warehouse Hotel, Breast Stupas Valentino was acquired by a Singaporean art collector, Ryan Su. Proceeds from the sale were then donated to local charity United Women Singapore, a fund dedicated to women’s empowerment and gender equality.

Tatler engaged in a conversation with Su to explore his decision to acquire the work and his future plans for the sculptures. Su explained, “Aside from the beauty and significance of the work, and the technical aspects in its execution (as mastered by Sanpitak’s fashion designer son, Shone Puipia), the decision to acquire the work was also to champion art and artists from the region. Southeast Asian artists need to be better represented in institutions and collections, especially in the West, where Sanpitak has been a trailblazer. A lot of the work that I do, as a board member of non-profit organisations in the arts, is to champion artists, and also, to increase arts awareness. One way to do this is also to build a collection of art and share it with the public by putting it on display and making it accessible.”