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Alessandro Michele offers a luminous, poetic interlude at Valentino
On Sunday 5th of October 2025, Alessandro Michele unveiled his third collection for Valentino as creative director of the Italian house since March 2024. For this Spring/Summer 2026 season, the Roman designer instills his own understanding of baroque elegance into a collection that was more understated than usual, inspired by a letter written by author Pier Paolo Pasolini…
Pasolini as the inspiration for Alessandro Michele’s show
On a pivotal day of Paris Fashion Week, Alessandro Michele invited a crowd of friends and ecstatic celebrities to discover his new show. Presented at the Institut du Monde Arabe, the Valentino Spring/Summer 2026 collection was a tad more muted than the previous ones.
A pivotal day to say the least. Just hours earlier, Michael Rider had made his debut at Celine on the other side of the capital. Only a few hours later, Dutch designer Duran Lantink introduced his early vision for Jean Paul Gaultier as new creative director of the iconic fashion house.
Alessandro Michele’s magnetism has been gathering a devoted community around his distinctive world season after season. The impressive lineup of celebrities who came to show their support in the front row was proof, from the elusive Lana Del Rey to Colman Domingo and Pamela Anderson.
A radiant Valentino collection titled Fireflies
Inspired by a letter written by Pier Paolo Pasolini in 1941, which was read by Pamela Anderson for the occasion, the Fireflies collection evokes the figure of the firefly as a fragile symbol of freedom and desire in the heart of the night. For the writer, these flickers of light embodied resistance, that of beauty and thinking, against the darkness of fascism.
Eight decades later, Alessandro Michele turns it into the guideline of a collection born from darkness, lit up by simple artificial glimmers recalling those luminous insects. A poetic tribute, but also a contemporary reflection on the need to keep some light in a world that has grown increasingly uniform and threatened by new political shadows.
Through plays on transparency and texture, the designer crafted a softer Valentino silhouette than usual. Long chiffon dresses alternated with velvet ensembles, while lace and sequins catched the stroboscopic lights that brightened the runway. Alessandro Michele‘s wardrobe unfolds in natural tones — browns, moss greens, whites — punctuated by touches of gold and red, a subtle nod to the house’s heritage.
An intimate and spiritual show
A draped shirt recalled the folds of an ancient garment, while an embroidered silk gown grazed the floor gracefully. The flowing, elongated cuts conveyed sensuality, especially thanks to the male silhouettes playing on transparency. Without forsaking the codes of the house, Alessandro Michele reinterpreted them with nuance. His trademark baroque romanticism felts more serene than ever.
It’s a striking contrast to his previous collection, presented last March in a fiery red setting inspired by filmmaker David Lynch. That show unfolded among a public restroom as a metaphor for intimacy and exposure. When the previous collection explored the boundary between the private and the collective, Fireflies now adresses the notion of an inner light.
Ultimately, this third ready-to-wear show for Valentino confirms the Roman designer’s desire to re-enchant the house’s legacy, while asserting a more poetic fashion… One guided by gentleness and contemplation. And it’s a success.
All the looks from the Valentino Spring/Summer 2026 show
