Alessandro Michele is bringing his prolific, almost prodigious creativity to Valentino. Just two months after being appointed creative director, today he’s releasing his first resort collection for the Roman maison, called Avant les Débuts. The 171 ready-to-wear looks, plus 93 images of (rather delightful) shoes, bags, and various accessories, were revealed through an impromptu zoom call with a select group of editors.
Speaking from his apartment, surrounded by a display of personal mementos, a relaxed and talkative Michele explained how he fell under the spell of “Valentino’s magical, potent place,” and how a deep dive into the “marvelous treasures of its archive” has been the starting point of his journey. “I’ve been seduced by that place,” he said.” I’m in love with it.
” Michele’s first thought was to put resort directly in stores with no fanfare at all. But in the last few days he changed plans. “I started working at Valentino as if we were an orchestra; everyone was playing his instrument with so much love and dedication that I thought it’d be right to be thankful and grateful to the people who have worked so tirelessly to make it happen.
My job is to tune the instruments, and it’s all about sharing, so to keep the collection somehow hidden from view wouldn’t have felt right. This is a beginning born out of love—it wants to be brought to light and be seen and shared.” When Michele started at Gucci, he had just a couple of weeks to .
