Alessandro Michele presented his fifth catwalk show as Valentino's creative director at Paris Fashion Week on Sunday, channelling nightclub aesthetics through see-through gauzy fabrics and deliberately mis-buttoned blazers.
Michele, who spent seven years as creative director at Gucci building the brand's maximalist identity, has held the top creative role at Valentino for 30 months. In that time he has completed 10 collections across four shows before Sunday's presentation.
The designer described his approach as playing with the "idea of glamour in the wrong way", according to the Guardian. The collection suggests Michele is applying his signature maximalist energy to Valentino's heritage house codes, refracting them through a dancefloor sensibility. Sheer fabrics and unconventional tailoring details signal a deliberate disruption of traditional formalwear.
Michele's track record at Gucci, where he made maximalism commercially viable and culturally dominant, suggests Valentino may be betting on his ability to shake up the storied Italian house in similar fashion. His rapid output since joining Valentino in 2024 indicates the brand's confidence in his direction, with collections rolling out regularly across the calendar.