EVEN IF YOU were temporarily dumbstruck by the appearance of Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson, there was something else you couldn’t fail to miss: the label’s persistently exquisite use of embroidery.

After several collections marked by flora, fauna and abstract motifs rendered in a rainbow of thread, it’s fair to say that Valentino’s design duo, Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pierpaolo Piccioli, have cornered the market in embroidery since arriving at the label in 2008. While their opulently, they’ve applied embroidery to more unlikely pieces, too, like the fisherman sweater. Floral-stitched, that sturdy staple looks fresh and newly luxe.

Undoubtedly they’re leaders of the pack in embroidery’s resurgence, but the pre-fall and fall collections were awash with what Linda Fargo, a senior vice president at Bergdorf Goodman, terms “stitch-witchery.” Sharing the common thread are old-guard brands like Gucci, youngish London labels such as Christopher Kane and Simone Rocha as well as nicely priced ones like New York-based Sea.

It’s a direction that feels right for right now. After seasons of normcore and minimalism, such beautiful and tactile clothing resonates. “At a certain point you can only wear so much clean and austere fashion. The pendulum has to swing toward the dazzle of incredible surface interest,” said Ms. Fargo.
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While the Valentino duo takes a relatively traditional approach, Mr. Kane approaches embroidery more subversively. The London designer currently offers a black leather motorcycle jacket festooned with sweet pink flowers and curling green stems. In short: not your grandmother’s embroidery—though granny might admire the rather pretty handiwork. “I like to challenge perceptions, mixing the femininity of embroidery with unexpected pairings,” said Mr. Kane.

His fellow Londoner Ms. Rocha, one of the industry’s edgy new darlings, also likes to nod to tradition while turning it on its head. In her fall collection, that strategy took form in nude tulle dresses embroidered with flowers in chunky cotton-blend yarn instead of slender silk. The look is a far cry from the, which until recently were the calling card of many up-and-coming British designers. The handcrafted effect, said Ms. Rocha, adds warmth and distinctiveness. “It was about trying to make something feel special,” she said, “but also a way to do something quite playful.”

Another way to give embroidery new life is to work old-world motifs on streamlined, modern pieces. Russian designer Olga Vilshenko landed on that strategy when she launched her namesake collection four years ago. The result: traditional Eastern European crisscross and chain-stitch embroideries on unfussy, wearable dresses, skirts and tops. “People want to see a forgotten beauty,” said Ms. Vilshenko. But they also don’t want to feel like they’re in a costume. Her clothes, she said, are “a link between yesterday and today.”

Indeed, the history of embroidery is long, going way back to ancient China and India. It’s something London’s Victoria and Albert Museum seeks to unravel in a coming exhibition, “The Fabric of India,” which opens on Oct. 3. Co-curator Divia Patel pointed out that many of the pieces in the show were designed to connote status, wealth and glamour. Clearly some things haven’t changed much in the course of centuries. Consider the fortune required to own a heavily worked Valentino frock.

Still, wearing embroidery needn’t bust your budget. Look to American label Sea, which offers sweet embroidered smock tops for just upward of $200. “The market is saturated with sameness,” explained co-designer Sean Monahan. “Using embroidery allows us to give our customer something unique.”

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