Valentino Unveils New Collection

Alessandro Michele, the Italian designer, presented his fifth show for Valentino at Paris fashion week on Sunday. The collection featured satin bustier tops paired with knee-length skirts, some of which were almost see-through in gauzy fabrics.

The show, held at the Sainte-Geneviève library, showcased clothes made for the dancefloor, with a debauched partying mood dominating both menswear and womenswear. Michele said he liked playing with the idea of glamour in the wrong way.

Michele's designs included creased trousers, silky boxers, and mis-buttoned double-breasted blazers. He also featured longer length ruffle and bow-adorned dresses, which had a Hollywood feel to them.

The designer described sensuality as part of the vocabulary of the brand and had pared back his signature voluminous silhouettes to focus on exposing skin. He also toyed with codes, featuring deep V-cut cotton vest tops and brightly colored baseball caps.

Michele's opulent outlook has been slightly out of step with fashion's vanilla era, but the reign of quiet luxury is quietly coming to a close. Personality dressing is on the rise, and Michele is poised to take advantage of this trend.

The brand's founder, Valentino Garavani, famously hated the casualisation of fashion, but Michele likes to challenge traditional codes. He featured double-pleated jeans, plaid shirts, and baseball caps with the slogan Villain Teen.

The choice of venue, the Sainte-Geneviève library, was especially poignant given the recent reports of book scanning. Guests were asked to bring a book for donation, with Alexander Skarsgård choosing a collection of Icelandic sagas and Jeff Satur selecting a manual for manifesting.

Michele said he was inspired by the term Antilibrary, coined by the late Italian writer and philosopher Umberto Eco. He compared his collection of unread books to the clothes sitting idle in his wardrobe.