Molly Elizabeth Agnew, a writer and founder of a fashion website called Eternal Goddess, shared her critiques on TikTok, asking: “Why could so many of the Valentino models not walk properly down the runway in their heels?” The video has amassed over 1.7 million views and nearly 1,000 comments. You can watch the full video here.

The Show

Valentino debuted its spring 2023 ready-to-wear collection over the weekend during Paris Fashion Week. Pierpaolo Piccioli, the brand’s creative director, titled the collection Unboxing, “as in thinking out of the…,” said Vogue.

“Valentino’s Spring/Summer 2023 collection tells the story of a conscious purity, an important process of subtraction—not absence—of the superfluous. Pierpaolo Piccioli’s goal is to bring us back to that authentic ideal of essential,” L’Officiel reported.

The show’s guest list was star-studded. Actors Zendaya and Florence Pugh were in attendance, as were newlyweds Brooklyn Beckham and Nicola Peltz. But the show itself contained mostly unknown models, “some of whom had never walked a show before,” Vogue said.

Unfortunately, many of the models couldn’t walk in their shoes, and their lack of experience became a topic of conversation after the show. Agnew, however, doesn’t think the models’ experience level had anything to do with their inability to walk—she blames that on the brand.

Agnew’s Video

“We need to talk about the shoe situation at the Valentino spring 2023 show,” Agnew said in her video. “The show was a mess—people couldn’t walk in their shoes, and people didn’t know the layout of the runway.”

Several clips from the show played behind Agnew as she spoke. In one clip, a model almost collided with an audience member. In another, a model stopped to take her shoes off mid-show.

One viral video posted by Hot Girl’s Europe shows several models falling down a flight of stairs as they exit the runway.

Agnew said it’s common for runway models to wear ill-fitting shoes. However, she argued that the sheer number of Valentino models struggling to walk during the show proved that something else was wrong and that Valentino was to blame.

“This is just embarrassing on the brand,” she said.

Viewers React

Many viewers agreed with Agnew and slammed Valentino.

“To me, it just shows the brand can’t make quality shoes,” adhocrp said.

“Valentino is showing just how little they care about their models,” SaneLunatic wrote.

“For a brand that is known highly for their shoes and footwear, it was a big yikes,” Zeniaxox added.

Valentino’s Response

In response to the criticism, a Valentino spokesperson told Newsweek that the brand offered its models “alternative shoe options,” but some chose to walk in “difficult” shoes.

“The Unboxing Valentino show was comprised of a mix of professional models and street casting. After the rehearsal, talents were asked if they were comfortable in their shoes, and were offered alternative shoe options,” the Valentino spokesperson said. “Additionally, transparent safety straps were added to shoes for more stability. While some talents opted to walk in shoes that were difficult, we are pleased that they felt empowered to remove their shoes and finish the show. Valentino respects our talents and puts their safety first, this was absolutely not a PR strategy.”

10/07/2022, 11:40 a.m. EST: This article has been updated to include a statement from a Valentino spokesperson.