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Alessandro Michele’s debut show at Valentino lived up to expectations. Harry Styles, Florence Welch, Elton John and Andrew Garfield were among those who made the trip to the south of Paris to attend the co-ed show, which featured a set resembling a home with furniture covered with white sheets. According to industry insiders, the collection was also a hit. Michele sent out a refined, romantic and elegant collection of 85 co-ed looks that included beautiful sheer dresses, lace, polka dots, bows, ruffles, and plenty of accessories.
“We want to see his take on Valentino, not Gucci 2.0,” an industry observer told Vogue Business before the SS25 show. Many think that he did precisely that. “While Michele’s personal aesthetic shone through very clearly, as expected, the show felt very much like his vision for Valentino with a well-balanced, harmonious blend,” said Richard Johnson, chief commercial and sustainability officer at luxury multi-brand retailer Mytheresa. Michele referred extensively to the house founder, Valentino Garavani, at the press conference that followed. “We pigeonholed him as someone extremely classic and chic. In truth, he was revolutionary,” Michele told editors.
It also felt like a reunion for Michele and Kering. The designer left Kering star brand Gucci in 2022 after a seven-year run as creative director. Meanwhile, in 2023, Valentino parent company Mayhoola sold a 30 per cent share in the house to Kering in a deal that will allow Kering to acquire the rest of the brand by 2028. Kering chairman and chief executive officer François-Henri Pinault, his wife, actress Salma Hayek, and Kering deputy CEO Francesca Bellettini also attended the show.
Under Michele’s creative reign at Gucci, the house’s sales nearly tripled from €3.5 billion in 2014 to €9.73 billion in 2022. Can Michele recreate the same magic at Valentino?
Valentino is a smaller brand. The Roman house reported sales of €1.35 billion in 2023, down 3 per cent compared to the previous year on a constant basis. Its profitability was 7.4 per cent in 2023. The budget at Valentino is arguably smaller too. Times have also changed. “The consumer of 2015 is not the consumer of 2024, but Michele is very much able to understand the zeitgeist,” says Mario Ortelli, managing director of Ortelli Co.
Surely, Michele has the ability to ignite trends. About the first look of the show, he said: “The first model was in love with her dress, with the small bows and plastron that looked like a heart. She had never seen such a démodé dress. I think demodé dressing is very contemporary.”
Unanimously positive reactions
“Alessandro is back,” fashion editor and stylist Carine Roitfeld said after the show. “Next season, we will have to be creative and search for some vintage pieces. More than fashion, it’s a mood, a way to be, a joy, an ultra femininity.”
Mytheresa’s Johnson called it “a beautiful and intensely romantic first outing”. He continued: “He tapped into a softer, feminine feeling which read as an ode to Rome and to the house of Valentino. With a few exceptions, the looks were long, light and carefully co-ordinated to cover the body which created a sophisticated and elevated aesthetic that our best clients will love and appreciate.”
“The moment I walked in the room and saw all the collections of chairs, couches and lamps shrouded in white drop cloths — protected keepsakes now ready to be revealed — on a surface of cracked mirror, I knew I would fall for this collection. And I did,” Broadway producer Jordan Roth said. “It was as if we took a cinematic stroll through layers of memories — both real and imagined — of travels to distant lands, of days apart and nights together, of joy and melancholy. And all those layers of story were rendered through layers of clothes, so exquisitely crafted and detailed with Alessandro’s unmistakable flair and the sophistication that has always been the foundation of Valentino.”
Meanwhile, Simon Longland, director of buying, fashion at Harrods, noted that “the collection feels rich in all aspects, from fabric to form, and from decoration to volume. A brand new universe created for Valentino in one show.”
Room for growth
Ortelli says that new accessories to complement the bestselling Rockstud range could benefit the business: “Leather goods share in Valentino’s revenues is lower than peers. One of the key tasks for Michele will be to boost brand desirability and use it to propel the sales of leather goods.” Michele delivered: the show had lots of accessories, including new bags, shoes and even lower lip rings.
Michele’s new role also reunites him with Jacopo Venturini. Both worked together at Gucci, where Venturini was vice president of merchandising and global markets until late 2019 before he was appointed CEO of Valentino in 2020. Michele was creative director at Gucci between 2015 and 2022. With a star merchandiser like Venturini, Michele’s unbridled creativity can translate into sales momentum.
Valentino will now show co-ed twice a year and couture only once a year (in January), the house announced earlier this month. Asked at the press conference if reducing the number of shows was his choice, Michele replied: “I think it s clear that I always try to do it. I used to do this [co-ed shows] at Gucci as well. Then, of course, I don t own the brands, and so you kind of have to figure out how to go about it. Here, I found Jacopo Venturini who is an extraordinary person, a friend, a person I really respect. We talked about it, but we were very aligned. I have to do it because even if I produce plenty of things, I also need some time.”
The resort 2025 collection revealed in June through a lookbook and titled “Valentino Avant les débuts” will be available exclusively in the two Valentino stores in Paris as of Monday before rolling out to a wider distribution in the autumn.
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