PARIS — Alessandro Michele invited us to the Pavillon des Folies for his runway debut at Valentino. In the censorious realm of social media, which rushes to judgment with no speed limit, “idiots” will undoubtedly represent the insanity they deem as an unmitigated Michele Redux, with the G-word prominent in their critiques. And maybe by mentioning something stupid he was perversely courting that reaction. Indeed, Michele could only toy with such a reaction from the supremely confident position of knowing that she had achieved something great. Of course, that’s not what he would say, so I’ll say it for him.
His Valentino debut will never match the impact of his first collection for Gucci. Because this brand of lightning that gives people what they wanted only strikes once. Instead, we are gifted with a collection that is expressed in Michele’s now-familiar lexicon, with its luxurious lightness, ease, exquisite technique, and long-overlooked… It has been re-presented in perfect beauty, still with the potential of what it was. I mean, how long has he been gone? Clearly, this hiatus of “quiet luxury” was all we needed to remind us that excitement is an important element in fashion pairings. It was an event that CEO Jacopo Venturini, who brought Michele to Valentino, described as “an urgent need to get back to creating desire and emotion.” And Ale has already proven to be a master at that.
On Sunday afternoon, as guests stepped into the cavernous space filled with giant furniture, art and sculptures, everything, including the walls, blurred sharp edges for a ghostly effect. It was covered with gauze fabric. It felt like I was inside a pavilion. It’s not stupidity, it’s a dream, and the shattered mirror floor makes the effect even worse. The story lies in the lives of the central characters, who had been warehoused while they were elsewhere, and which was brought to Valentino’s ‘home’ when Michele took up the role of creative director in April. It reflects the feelings you expressed to me about moving. He claimed that he felt his presence everywhere he worked, but that it was in the brand’s great archive that he felt his presence. And all the details he absorbed were frills, ribbons, brocades, glittering embroidery, golden lace, polka dots, hats, facial ornaments, and an embarrassment of excesses of the bohemian spirit that tapped into Michele’s own desires. It spilled out onto the catwalk without any hesitation. In particular, there are a number of attractive accessories featuring fringes, embroidery, and even the ‘V’ logo, one of the most recognizable and least offensive logos in fashion. is.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again… Michele’s work at Gucci was influenced by her respect for Valentino, so Sunday’s presentation was, in fact, the final consummation of that relationship. And it confirmed his own unique voice. We can stop talking about someone else and settle on this as the new world he has defined for himself. As with all his past presentations, there was an esoteric manifesto written in collaboration with his teaching partner Giovanni Attili. Once again, their words provided a flow of free association that illuminated a creative process unlike any other in fashion. In search of love, the scent of damp earth, the feel of frilled organza, the miracle of a library, the delicate layers of watercolor. ” Then who needs a “review”?