Back in 2015 when Alessandro Michele took over the creative reins at Gucci, he reportedly put together his first collection in less than a week. So it shouldn’t be surprising that in the two months since he’s been appointed creative director at Valentino that he has spent that time being prolific. Still, Michele managed to shock the fashion world when he suddenly dropped an entire Cruise 2025 collection months ahead of his planned debut (for spring/summer 2025, to be shown in September). And it was no teaser, filler collection either—it was a mammoth 171-look outing that made clear what Michele’s vision for the Roman House would be.
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Fans of Michele’s maximalist, magpie aesthetic need not worry—the designer’s work is as rich and romantic as ever; in fact, it is the loudest ready-to-wear riposte yet to the quiet luxury movement that took hold of the cultural consciousness last year. The difference is that at Valentino, Michele has decided to tone down—remember, in fashion, it’s all relative—the eccentricity, and to dial up the elegance and refinement.
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Based on this one collection, it would seem that his Valentino is more straight-up pretty than his Gucci, which sometimes veered kitschy. The period of time in Valentino’s history that he’s honed in on is the ‘60s and ‘70s, when House founder Valentino Garavani seduced high society with his extravagant and extremely tasteful haute couture.
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Michele has filtered those inspirations through a distinctly Michele-ian lens. There were long wool coats with large faux-fur collars and cuffs; sheer, ruffled dresses with sprays of intricate embroideries; exuberant bursts of florals and paisleys; prim skirt suits and tunic-trouser combos in tweed, boucle, sequins or jacquards.
Looks came accessorised with turbans, jewelled hair pins, and strands and strands of pearls. The brand’s V-logo was applied liberally, on both pockets and pocketbooks.
For men, there were suits with a distinct Seventies flavour—shrunken on top, flared below. Underneath were ruffled lace collars and Michele’s signature pussybows. There were also grandfatherly knit vests and schoolboy ties, while the cuffs of trousers often featured retro geometric tile-like prints.
Though the collection didn’t have the same disruptive energy as Michele’s Gucci debut, it did provide a much-needed counterpoint to the ultra-clean aesthetic pervading much of fashion right now. Was it a coincidence that Michele dropped this lookbook hours before Gucci was to show his successor Sabato De Sarno’s second menswear collection? We may never know, but for those who find the latter brand’s current incarnation too quiet after Michele’s eclectic tenure, there is now a new go-to for excess and opulence.
