Valentino SS25: What went down at Alessandro Michele’s big Paris debut

At Gucci, Alessandro Michele created his own spectacular world: one that careened through eras and transcended genres, and would be just as likely to have its inhabitants kitted out in vinyl bondage gear and clasping whips and cat-o-nine-tails as it would trussing them up in flouncy Elizabethan gowns and adidas tracksuits.

Across his almost eight-year reign at the Italian house – where he’d long worked behind the scenes before being plucked from obscurity to take the top spot – Michele sent models carrying their own heads or clutching baby dragons down the runway, debuted doppelgänger twins in matching outfits that left the audience feeling like they were seeing double, and invited everyone from Iggy Pop and Debbie Harry, to A$AP Rocky and Tyler, The Creator to party in a swathe of raucous ad campaigns and films.

Now, fashion’s biggest auteur is back to make his mark on Paris, as the most exciting debut of the SS25 season gets underway. Though Michele surprise-dropped a mammoth Valentino lookbook back in June – comprising 171 eclectic looks that epitomised his mad, mish-mash approach to dressing – today is the day he finally returns to the runway to show the world his vision for the brand. Here’s everything you need to know.

Walking down a barely-lit corridor, our first look at the showspace was nothing more than a hazy pink light in the distance. As we got closer, it was as if we were walking into someone’s long-abandoned house, with higgledy-piggledy bits of furniture all stacked up on top of each other and covered with thin white decorating sheets, and a cracked mirror floor created by artist Alfredo Pirri. The whole thing was a very literal representation of how Michele felt upon joining the Valentino family. “When I came here, it was beautiful, it was different – it was as if I had entered someone else’s home,” he explained post-show. “I did not find offices, or a place of work. I found intimate spaces in which an individual lived, full of precious things and fragile objects.”

Michele’s first Valentino lookbook was pretty divisive when it landed this summer, with hardcore fans overjoyed to see their favourite maximalist hadn’t changed his spots, and others losing their mind that his output at his new home looked set to be a carbon-copy of what he did at Gucci. For SS25, though, the collection actually felt very, very Valentino and it began to make perfect sense as to why he’d been chosen for the job. 

Both Michele and Mr. Garavani himself share a proclivity for picking and pulling from different eras throughout history, with Michele endlessly demonstrating a deep love for the aesthetics of the 1970s during his time at Gucci. This time around, he’d honed into the heady days of Valentino’s reign during the 60s, 70s, and early 80s, dipping into the archives from these decades and filtering what he found out through his own lens. It definitely felt very Michele, but perhaps more restrained than his first outing in the lookbook – this second time around, it was as if he’d truly gotten to grips with the material and fully understood the assignment. 

As the last straggling guests took their seats and the runway lights went up, the first look out of the gate comprised a neat little black pencil dress with a ruffled hem and tuxedo-esque bow detailing to the chest, matched with red lace tights and black lace gloves, which was the start of a series of similar prim and proper skirt suits with bracelet cuffs and faux-fur trims – the whole vibe gave the air of a dip into the swinging 60s, with (some of the many) finishing touches made up of perky little pillbox hats, coquettish embroidered bed jackets trimmed with feathers, and flouncy Pierrot-esque ruff collars. 

As Michele flashed forward in time to the 1970s, out came diaphanous chiffon gowns encrusted with Swarovski crystals and big faux-fur coats, alongside more boho looks, like swirling, floral printed dresses overlaid with embellished waistcoats, Paisley-printed harem trousers that looked like they’d been procured from an Ibizan street market, and fringed capes. 

The designer also seemed fixated on the 70s’ rehash of Regency-era gear, turning out a series of gowns that would have had Lux Lisbon and her sisters salivating, their empire-line busts trimmed with crochet panels and brightly coloured ribbons. Rounding the whole thing off were a series of ensembles that paid tribute to Valentino in the early 80s – a ra-ra dress in the house’s signature scarlet was joined on the runway by a similarly-hued silky blouse and black skirt combo which you could definitely see Winona slipping into circa her early career. 

As ever, the collection was styled to within an inch of its life. For SS25, this meant big, floppy, wide-brimmed hats affixed with dramatic feather quills, little hippy-dippy crochet beanies and skull caps, and chic fascinators trimmed with lace that obscured the wearer’s face. Jewellery was as heavy as ever, with earlobes stretched with chunky crystal door knockers, and necks weighed down with layer upon layer of gaudy rhinestones and beads. Michele’s not giving up his facial jewellery any time soon, either: models noses were punched through with glittering faux piercings and there were some standout lip adornments on offer – which was, the designer told us later, a way of bringing the clothes into the present and making it all feel a lot more modern. 

The polka dot was sprinkled throughout the offering, whether big and bolshy in gold across A-line dresses, or more subtle and tiny on silky blouses and fishtail skirts. With Valentino Garavani a big fan of the motif, Michele explained in the post-show conference he’d newly become a bit obsessed with it, too. “I never loved polka dots,” he explained, sitting on one of the cloth-covered chairs clutching a mic. “But they leverage something very powerful, and they’re almost impossible to modify. Here, they show a new generation it’s possible to be weirdly chic in a disciplined or unruly way.”

No runway show in the year of our lord 2024 would be complete without a star-studded front row, and of course Michele got his friends on speed dial and rounded them up to come support. Back again was old friend Harry Styles, as well as Florence Pugh, Andrew Garfield, and Elton John. 

During the press conference post-show, one of the questions that came up pretty quickly centred around how quiet luxury has risen up as the dominant trend within fashion, and asked how Michele felt about the minimalist movement. Unsurprisingly, the designer was not having any of it, stating that to do anything other than what he did here would be disingenuous. “This is just how I work,” he responded. “I don’t think a lot about what other people are doing, and when you work with a brand you have to be sincere. It’s like being invited to a party – you just have to be yourself and come as you are. Minimalism is a complex issue and rich subject matter, and it’s a strange time we are going through. I feel I have to live in a way that is true to myself.” 

As the post-show pit got ready to disband, Michele touched on the next chapter: couture. “We are just starting to cook it!” he told us, explaining that he will be sticking to the Gucci tried-and-tested format of one show a year. “Couture needs time and special space. To do it too quickly is like trying to refurbish a house in a week. We could not do justice to the house of Valentino.” Plus, he doesn’t want to overwork his team. “Haute Couture really sells, so they’re working for me and they’re working for the Valentino customers. The atelier never stops!” With the SS25 season now under their belts, that’s really going to be true as we head towards the end of the year: Michele and his atelier’s first couture collection is set to land in January 2025.