The rumours are true: Alessandro Michele has been named the new creative director of Valentino.
The news comes less than a week after Pierpaolo Piccioli, the former creative director of Valentino, announced his departure from the Italian fashion brand. Michele will officially join the Roman fashion brand on 2 April. He will make his Valentino debut with his Spring/Summer 2025 collection, which will likely be showcased during Paris Fashion Week in September.
The former Gucci designer took to Instagram to express his gratitude and excitement for his new role. “It’s an incredible honour for me to be welcomed at Maison Valentino,” wrote Michele. “I feel the immense joy and the huge responsibility to join a Maison de Couture that has the word ‘beauty’ carved on a collective story, made of distinctive elegance, refinement and extreme grace.”
“Today, I search for words to nominate the joy, to regard it, to really convey what I feel: the smiles that kick from the chest, the bliss of gratitude that lights up up the eyes, that precious moment when necessity and beauty reach out and meet. Joy, though, is such a living thing that I’m afraid to hurt it if I dare to speak its name. May my bow, wide open arms, speak for itself and salute in this early spring the regeneration of life and the promise of new blooming,” he continued.
Michele’s appointment at Valentino marks his latest major move in the fashion industry since leaving Gucci in late 2022. The Italian fashion designer had served at the latter brand for over 20 years—first as a designer during Tom Ford’s tenure, and later, from 2015, as creative director, succeeding Frida Giannini.
At Gucci, Michele was known for his romantic and maximalist designs, which were influenced by art, cinema, history and vintage fashion. His fashion shows were also as extravagant as his designs, and were often glamorous affairs set in grand locations, with countless Hollywood stars in attendance. These elements will likely make his Valentino haute couture fashion shows a hot ticket in the seasons to come.
Michele also honoured Gucci’s heritage by reviving or reinterpreting its house codes and archival designs, including the bestselling Jackie 1961 bag. He will likely do the same at Valentino.
In his statement, he shared, “My first thought goes to this story: to the richness of [Valentino’s] cultural and symbolic heritage, to the sense of wonder it constantly generates, to the very precious identity given with their wildest love by founding fathers, Valentino Garavani and Giancarlo Giammetti. These references always represented an essential source of inspiration for me, and I’m going to praise such influence through my own interpretation and creative vision.”