Alessandro Michele’s first couture show for Valentino was a full-blown sensory experience that pushed the boundaries of fashion and storytelling. Titled Vertigineux, the collection took us on a wild ride through a universe of references, emotional threads, and feverish associations, all captured in 48 extraordinary looks. Each dress wasn’t just an object of beauty, it was an intricate narrative, alive with the breath of couture craftsmanship.
Inspired by Umberto Eco’s theory of 'the list' - how lists shape culture by balancing the infinite with the finite - Michele played with the dualities of order and chaos, using the concept of a list as both a structure and an invitation to endless possibility. Each piece was a living, breathing entity, like a singular line in a never-ending poetic catalogue, evoking memories, dreams, and alternate realities.
Michele brought his signature maximalism to Valentino in full force, but this was couture like we’ve never seen before. The fabric billowed, draped, and sculpted in a way that felt effortless and incredibly intricate all at once. Embroideries twinkled like fragmented thoughts, while sculptural forms twisted and turned in on themselves, each look embodying the very soul of couture. The intensity of the craftsmanship made every piece feel like a breathing work of art - one that spoke its own language but echoed across cultures, eras, and stories.
The collection was a whirlwind of textures and contradictions: baroque golden fabrics, delicate lace, silk florals, and exaggerated proportions that tugged at the edge of surrealism. Pastels and deep blacks intertwined, while floral motifs clashed and merged, evoking everything from pre-Raphaelite fantasies to modern, cinematic dreamscapes. It was a dizzying experience, akin to flipping through the pages of an old book filled with scribbled notes, cryptic sketches, and snippets of poetry - where every page turned into a new chapter in the ever-expanding story of couture.
Michele’s genius lay in his ability to layer the narrative. Each look was an idea, a feeling, a memory suspended in time. Whether it was a flowing gown adorned with rich, organic textures or a voluminous piece that seemed to defy the laws of gravity, these dresses didn’t just sit on the body - they lived, they breathed, and they moved with a vitality that screamed haute couture in its purest form. Each one felt like it could unfold into a thousand different stories, as though the list of what it could represent would never end.
In Vertigineux, Michele showed us a visceral, multi-dimensional journey through time, space, and imagination. This was a dialogue between the seen and the unseen, between order and chaos, between the present and the past. Valentino’s new era has begun, and it’s one that exists in the vertigo of endless possibilities, where fashion becomes an art of limitless wonder.
