It’s official ! Pierpaolo Piccioli has a successor at Valentino. This is Alessandro Michele, former artistic director of Gucci.
Six days after the announcement of the departure of Pierpaolo Piccioli from the artistic direction of Valentino, the Italian label revealed the name of its new thinking head. And it was Alessandro Michele who was chosen to replace him. A designer that sector specialists know well, since he headed the Gucci house from 2015 to 2022. After Milan, it is therefore in Rome that the man, recognizable by his full beard and his long brown hair, will practice from April 2, 2024. For the first time in his career, he will design haute couture collections in addition to men’s and women’s ready-to-wear lines. “It is an incredible honor for me to be welcomed into the Valentino house. I feel the immense joy and great responsibility of joining a fashion house that carries the word “beauty” engraved in a collective history, made of distinctive elegance, refinement and extreme grace”.
A winning duo
In a press release issued by Valentino, Alessandro Michele underlines his joy at working again with Jacopo Venturini, the CEO of the label founded in 1960. If the two men know each other well, it is because they have worked hand in hand hand at Gucci, until the departure of the manager in 2020. Did the latter facilitate the arrival of the designer to his new position? What is certain is that the Roman’s theatrical and deliberately kitsch creations are not only adored by stars and consumers: they have also won over the board of directors of Valentino. The brand, owned by Mayhoola, the investment company of Qatar’s ruling family which also owns Balmain, now counts the French luxury group Kering in its capital. In November 2023, the company led by François-Henri Pinault acquired 30% of the label as part of an agreement which includes the option of its total acquisition by 2028. Valentino would thus become the first luxury house couture to join a portfolio which includes Saint Laurent, Balenciaga, Bottega Veneta and… Gucci.
A first parade scheduled for the fall
“Today, I am looking for words to designate joy, to consider it, to truly convey what I feel: the smiles that spring from the chest, the happiness of gratitude that lights up the eyes, that precious moment when necessity and beauty reach out and meet”, proclaims Alessandro Michele in a burst of lyricism. To discover its first creations under the Valentino label, you will have to wait until spring-summer 2025 fashion week. The brand, which has announced that it will skip men’s and haute couture next June, will present its next collection during Paris Fashion Week, scheduled from September 23 to 1er October 2024. We will have to be patient.