Valentino SS25: Reviving the Ghosts of Glamour

At the Valentino show, dust sheets draped the walls and covered antique chairs and furniture. The space exuded the sense that, long ago, a great ball had been held here, attended by an array of stylishly eccentric characters, and now all that remained were these traces of the past. A faded glory that Alessandro Michele, in his runway debut at the helm of Valentino, would soon reanimate.

In his show notes, Michele ruminated on the role beauty plays in our short time on Earth. “Beauty can represent a remedy for the anguish that arises from the ephemeral and undetermined nature of our destiny. An anchor to navigate within that ‘pavillon des folies’ we call life,” he wrote.

Such beauty, his clothing suggests, is maximalist and individualistic. Each model was their own character, hailing from the Victorian era to the 1980s, wearing ruffled dresses and gowns or heavily embellished jackets. Their personalities were amplified by their accessories, be it extravagant hats or turbans, lace tights or gloves, sunglasses or facial studs, feather poufs or bows tied around ankles, bags bearing enormous Vs or shaped like cats. These characters walked the broken mirror runway as if they haunted the venue. They were once guests at this party; Salma Hayek, Harry Styles and Elton John were sitting in their chairs.

Michele’s definition of beauty is epic, joyous and lingering, like a grand ball of the past whose echoes continue to resound.