Alessandro Michele is Valentino's New Creative Director
Alessandro Michele's legion of followers no longer have to speculate about his next move. Today, 14 months after Michele's exit from Gucci, it was revealed that the designer has been appointed as Valentino's creative director. This news comes only a week after the announcement that Pierpaolo Piccioli would be stepping down after being with the Maison for a long 25 years.
"It's an incredible honor for me to be welcomed at Maison Valentino," Michele wrote in a statement online. "I feel the immense joy and the huge responsibility to join a Maison de Couture that has the word 'beauty' carved on a collective story, made a distinctive elegance, refinement and extreme grace."
Michele, who served as Gucci's creative director for seven years, is synonymous with theatrical themes that often lean toward the whimsical and surreal. Minimalists may have strayed away; he was a fan of eccentric (especially animal) prints, big bows, and shiny fabrics, and his shows were always a spectacle in themselves. (Remember when an army of twins walked the catwalk for the Spring 2023 season?) Along with devoted fashion fans, his vision attracted a celebrity following including Jared Leto, Florence Welch, Lana Del Rey, A$AP Rocky, and more.
It will be interesting to see how Michele's theatrical approach will take shape at Valentino. Traditionally, the Maison has relied on elegant glamour, and Michele will be tasked, for the first time ever, to design couture.
However, we may have a little hint: "Today, I search for words to nominate the joy, to regard it, to really convey what I feel: the smiles that kick from the chest, the bliss of gratitude that lights up the eyes, that precious moment when necessity and beauty reach out and meet," Michele wrote. "Joy, though, is such a living thing that I'm afraid to hurt it if I dare to speak its name."
Michele's debut collection at Valentino will be spring 2025.
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