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In a surprise move, Alessandro Michele dropped his first collection for Valentino on the last day of Milan Fashion Week Men’s. The former creative director of Gucci pulled together a resort 2025 collection for Valentino, presented as a lookbook, within a tight two-month time frame (he joined on 28 March).
This is no small starter collection. It comprises 171 ready-to-wear looks and 93 accessories shots. The co-ed collection, titled ‘Avant les Débuts’ (which translates to ‘before the beginnings’), features coats with fur-trimmed collars, ruffled mini dresses and an array of prints — think houndstooth, paisley, plaid, leopard — a signature Michele code. The designer has been particularly inspired by Valentino Garavani’s 1968 Sfilata Bianca collection.
“I started working at Valentino as if we were an orchestra; everyone was playing his instrument with so much love and dedication that I thought it’d be right to be thankful and grateful to the people who have worked so tirelessly to make it happen,” Michele told Vogue Runway. “My job is to tune the instruments, and it’s all about sharing, so to keep the collection somehow hidden from view wouldn’t have felt right. This is a beginning born out of love — it wants to be brought to light and be seen and shared.”
We asked 10 industry insiders what they thought of Michele’s first collection for the house. Reactions were generally upbeat, yet mixed. While buyers and analysts were largely positive about the collection — a good indicator of its commercial potential — some fashion editors were more critical, calling for greater differentiation from the designer’s work at Gucci.
Sophie Jordan, menswear buying director at Mytheresa
The collection embodies Alessandro’s signature feel and fluidity, reinterpreted through the Valentino archives. The market has moved towards a cleaner and more minimal aesthetic, which is resonating well with our menswear customer, so it will be interesting to see how the more maximal look and bohemian spirit takes hold. There will be loyal Alessandro fans waiting to buy into his look and we’re looking forward to seeing how customers respond to the new era at Valentino.
Luca Solca, analyst and managing director of luxury goods at Bernstein
I feel a big breath of fresh air in what Alessandro has shown for Valentino. You can see the Alessandro Michele, but the Valentino Garavani too. A very interesting first, and very timely too.
Tiziana Cardini, fashion critic for Vogue Runway
The collection was vast, but I was impressed by the range. Everything was complex and precise in the styling. You could tell that the execution was really up to Valentino’s standards. Also, you could see some real Valentino staples, like the beautiful evening dresses, some hints at the ’70s and the ’60s in the daywear. Alessandro is in the styling. But the precision of the construction, the execution, the femininity and the grace are Valentino. That makes the difference between what [Michele] did at Gucci and what he did here. At Gucci, there was more punch, more extravagance. Here, he tamed that extravaganza down in favour of more grace.
Of course it’s the first outing, and Alessandro is very strong in what he stands for. I’m sure we will see a lot of those evening dresses on the red carpet. The accessories are also very good, the shoes are really nice. I think it’s a positive start and I wasn’t expecting anything different.
Mario Ortelli, luxury analyst and managing partner at advisory firm Ortelli Co
Alessandro is a master in changing the rules of the fashion system. The ‘surprise’ launch of his unexpected, comprehensive collection is a master stroke. This sort of pre-launch can potentially reduce the lead time to get commercial traction in the market when the products are available for order or in store.
Eric Brain, menswear consultant and freelance journalist
I am so obsessed with it. There is a place in this world for that look and feel, and it’s Alessandro Michele who is the only one fit for that place. It’s obviously very Gucci, but that’s Alessandro. I think he’s great at making a whole look and individual products and bringing life to fabrics, prints and so on, all rooted in a brand’s history. So good.
Karen Harvey, recruiter and founder and CEO of Karen Harvey Consulting
To launch collections before they’ve reset the entire vision, one is forced to look at the product out of context. Alessandro Michele is incredibly prolific, but I think putting a lookbook of this magnitude out digitally without a framework can be challenging. We advise brands to take a minute when a new creative director steps in so that they are able to connect their vision across all platforms.
People who love fashion today are obsessed with heritage brands and those that are authentic, and therefore, Valentino has one of the biggest opportunities to prevail in this new era. The unlock will be connecting the dots between Michele’s vision and the Valentino heritage in a way that inspires a reverence in the context of modernity.
Osama Chabbi, fashion critic
I feel like a surprise resort collection wasn’t super necessary, especially in the midst of a menswear season. I had very high hopes thinking that Michele could perhaps bring his vision to Valentino in a very Valentino-like manner, rather than just sticking to what he was previously doing at Gucci.
I feel like the musical chairs of fashion is sometimes being done at the cost of heritage of traditional brands, which is quite sad to witness. I get it, I do think creative integrity is super important, but this just feels unnecessarily stubborn.
Emma Davidson, fashion features director at Dazed
Alessandro Michele is arguably the biggest auteur working in fashion right now, so Valentino clearly knew what they were getting when they asked him to sign on the dotted line. But I’ll admit I’m shocked by how closely this first collection resembles what he was doing at Gucci. I was actually really excited to see him put his stamp on Valentino and thought it would be super interesting to watch how his aesthetic approach would translate at his new house — I’d imagined it would have a lot of his hallmarks but would be more restrained and pared back, which I was really excited to see.
But this first collection is basically like for like. I know his tenure at Gucci inside out and if you put this resort offering in front of me alongside a bunch of his past work, I highly doubt I’d be able to confidently differentiate between Gucci and Valentino. That said, I loved what he did at Gucci and it’s not that I don’t like this first collection — I just thought we’d see something fresh and new, and we really haven’t.
Robert Burke, luxury consultant and CEO of Robert Burke Associates
It was a very comprehensive collection and it gave us a very solid understanding of where he’s going. I thought the collection was fantastic. It was very much the two personalities, Alessandro and Mr Valentino, combined — you rarely ever see that type of merger aesthetically. It was very romantic, really played up to the beauty, the femininity, the classic-ness of Valentino but gave it a fresh angle. It has a vintage element to it, but then a modern-ness and lightness to it as well.
I think if people say it looks like Gucci, really it looks like Alessandro — but done in not a Gucci way, in a much more refined, feminine sophisticated way. This is a very good foot forward without a doubt. It’s a new direction from [Valentino]. Michele knows how to add new customers to a brand and modernise a collection, so I think it’s going to be very appealing to the customer and it has great potential… I think he’s setting us up to have a very strong aesthetic and DNA that will be identifiable, which is really needed in the fashion world right now.
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