Valentino’s Shanghai Special

SHANGHAI — In a bid to capture a greater share of Chinese luxury consumers, Valentino, for the first time in the Italian fashion house’s history, introduced a new collection outside of Paris, on a runway set against a backdrop of futuristic skyscrapers and a river filled with barges.

The fashion event, held Thursday evening in an orb-shaped space with floor-to-ceiling glass in a cruise terminal on Shanghai’s Huangpu River, coincided with the opening of a 7,535-square-foot flagship in IAPM, a recently opened luxury mall on Huaihai Road, an upscale shopping street in the heart of the city. On Friday, the brand hosted a party at the new Lane Crawford store here where it introduced “Objects of Couture,” its book of specially commissioned photography that showcases Valentino’s legacy of accessories design. The fashion show was followed by an after party with an opera singer. Celebrity guests included Chinese actresses Zhang Ziyi and Carina Lau.