We’ll never look at Valentino red the same way again. That’s the thought that came to mind stepping through the bathroom doors into Alessandro Michele’s show space, an enormous public restroom bathed in lurid red light—a gender neutral restroom, as this was a co-ed show. Michele himself described the set as Lynchian, as in the late movie director David Lynch, but I saw The Shining, by Stanley Kubrick, via The Substance.
This was Michele’s second ready-to-wear show for the brand. The reaction to his first was mixed, with some suggesting that the former Gucci creative director wasn’t trying hard enough to reinvent. The sound of a toilet flushing told us all we needed to know regarding how he felt about that criticism. Officially, the show was about exploring the performative nature of intimacy (hence the public private space of the lavatory). But as one of fashion’s thought leaders on gender fluidity— Michele’s very first Gucci show having given us the men’s pussy bow blouse—he could also have been providing a sharp commentary on the rising tide of anti-trans hate.
At a preview in Valentino’s Place Vendôme headquarters, Michele focused on the challenge of updating the house’s legacy. “It’s complicated here: You have to find a balance between contemporary maximalism and making it relevant because otherwise you risk the brand being frozen. So I’m trying to manipulate the past to make it now.” He did that by grounding the collection in a more familiar reality. Look 2’s slouchy tweed pants, v-neck sweater, and faux fur jacket could easily slide into a street style photo gallery, and look 8’s peekaboo bustier top and high-waisted ’70s jeans wouldn’t be out of place at Caviar Kaspia late night. Michele also worked on a collaboration with Vans, but his efforts extended beyond the denim and the sneakers to the show’s undone, almost work-in-progress spirit. The hems on all the pants had been let down and models wore their hair back in knit headbands and balaclavas. No blowouts here. And then there were the bodysuits, unsnapped over lacy tights.
While he made efforts to recast Valentino for the more casual lifestyles we live today, a long dress with a cat’s face, which echoed the porcelain kitty bag on last season’s runway, said that Michele’s not going to feel guilty for being himself. And for a special occasion dress, he’s hard to top. Today’s came in silk georgette and lace in a mix of acids and pastels embellished with crystals and bows (one of those house motifs that’s hard to make look modern). There was also a striking black number with a deep plunge and a high slit, which struck a more minimal note.
Valentino Garavani is a decorous man, and until his retirement in 2008, the house was associated with a jet-set politesse, high flying but ultimately genteel. Michele is designing in more anxious, anarchic, social mediated times. There was one thing for sure about this eccentric performance, you couldn’t look away.
