‘Beauty is always changing’: Michele’s Roman tribute to Valentino

Valentino Garavani wanted to make beautiful clothes for the women who could afford them. The perpetually tanned designer, whose vision of jet set glamour was matched only by his own yacht-and-pug lifestyle, died in January. The first proper catwalk show since his death was taken off the fashion week schedule and brought back to Rome, where he lived, worked and died.

Alessandro Michele, who took over the house in 2024, said the brand’s DNA is complex. “It’s a complicated DNA because beauty is always changing,” he said after the show at the 17th-century Palazzo Barberini. The collection returned to Valentino’s signatures — lace-dipped hems, draped tunics cinched with satin sash belts — while leaning into jewel-like hues for the autumn/winter season.

Michele also made the show personal, in part a tribute to his mother.

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