A Change in Direction at Valentino
image via @maisonvalentino
“Con Amore, pp”
When news first broke of Pierpaolo’s departure from Valentino on 22nd March 2024, the fashion world was left feeling bereft. After 25 years at the fashion house, firstly working in the accessories department, then co-directing with Maria Chiuri before her move to Dior, to finally taking on the house himself in 2016, it’s safe to say Pierpaolo’s entire career has been spent moulding Valentino into what the brand is today. So what is that exactly? Valentino’s success is based on the house’s obsession with perfection. The brand is famous for its stunning gowns plus more modern pieces that can be worn day to day such as their sculptural cut-out jeans from look 19 SS24. However, the Pierpaolo era at Valentino is over and that makes way for a new director. Alessandro Michele.
At first, I couldn’t see how Valentino was going to fill the shoes of Pierpaolo at all, let alone replace him with Alessandro. It made no sense to me. We were seemingly going from refined, decadent and pristine to gaudy, over-the-top and eccentric. However, through research for this article, I was surprised by the amount of similarities between the two designers both in their careers and design techniques. My perception of this choice has been completely flipped and although letting go of Pierpaolo at the helm of Valentino is a hard pill to swallow, I’m intrigued to see what Alessandro can bring to the house.
image via Vogue Runway
Alessandro’s career is similar to Pierpaolo’s in many ways but mainly in the fact almost his entire design career has been spent at one house, Gucci. For years, Alessandro was behind the scenes at Gucci working in the accessories department (sound familiar?) while Tom Ford was the creative director there. He then became creative director himself in 2017. Alessandro turned Gucci into a cult house in the fashion world. That’s not to say this hadn’t been done before at Gucci, of course, Tom Ford put Gucci on the map but more in a sexy seductive way.
Alessandro kind of rebutted that, beauty was still at the forefront of his vision but more of an uncommon beauty. His vision was camp, odd and very in your face. Yet somehow, Gucci took over the hearts and minds of a younger generation. It became a brand that was sought after, everyone wanted something and if you couldn’t afford it then don’t worry because you can copy it! Get out your nan’s old dresses and throw on a blazer from the charity shop and you’ve got the Gucci look! Although Alessandro’s Gucci wasn’t to everyones taste, it was for everyone in the sense that it was accessible. It was doable. Most of all it was relatable.
image via Vogue Runway
Millions of young people flocked to Gucci’s YouTube channel during Alessandro’s era to watch the latest advert or short film that filled their minds with extravagance and fantasy. Since Alessandro departed from Gucci, they haven’t had a YouTube video reach one million views in 11 months, in fact, most barely reach ten thousand. Alessandro wasn’t just selling clothes, he was selling a lifestyle, an aesthetic which you bought into. He built a world for the Gucci buyer and used models that weren’t stunning but were interesting to look at, which in my opinion is more captivating anyway. He famously sent models down the runway with wax moulds of their own heads in the AW18 show. It was beautiful yet shocking and that’s what Alessandro is best at. So how do you turn period costume-styled looks and severed heads into something that will work at Valentino? As I previously mentioned, the similarities between Pierpaolo and Alessandro don’t just stop at their career history.
I was surprised to find many parallels in design when watching old shows from the first 5 years of each of their solo directions at both houses. At first, I believed them to be so wildly different yet as I watched these shows, there were certain motifs that kept repeating themselves through both of their designs. Some of the most common motifs were bows featured throughout both men’s collections. Pierpaolo uses bows as an embellishment to many of his designs, such as Look 27 AW23, whereas Alessandro uses bows in a trompe-l'œil style made from sequins on many dresses and shirts in his SS16 show.
Feathers also feature heavily across both houses. Ostrich feathers have been a hugely common motif in Pierpaolo’s work in recent years. Alessandro uses feathers as trimming to his more costume-style looks. Both men have a huge focus on suiting and using suiting to create traditional yet modern looks. Probably the biggest crossover was the use of florals (cue ‘florals? groundbreaking’ quote from The Devil Wears Prada). Gucci launched their ‘Gucci Garden’ fragrances during Alessandro’s era and the Gucci cafe with the same name. Florals have been featured in much of Pierpaolo’s work too, usually in the form of prints on fabric.
Despite these similarities though, it will be hard to envision a Valentino without Pierpaolo at the helm. I’m not saying Alessandro won’t do a good job but I personally can’t imagine anything beating Pierpaolo’s version of the house. But maybe it’s not about beating, it’s just a new era and I’m excited to see what’s in store.
