A surprising decision by Valentino

A surprising decision by Valentino touched even the most experienced observers of the fashion world. Well, after Pierpaolo Piccioli left the position of creative director of the brand on Friday, the Roman fashion house took unusual steps. It was announced that this year’s Valentino menswear and haute couture shows will not be presented. There is one more shift worth mentioning. Paris Men’s Fashion Week, which usually takes place in June, has been postponed to June 18-23. Haute couture shows are scheduled for June 24-27. Although the date arrangement was changed, due to exceptional circumstances, Valentino decided not to show its collections, even on the changed date. Why?

Blank slate

Starting from the beginning. French fashion’s governing body has decided to postpone its fall haute couture shows in 2024 to avoid clashing with the upcoming Olympic and Paralympic Games. These games, which have been synonymous with sporting achievement for years, will take place from July 26 to August 11. The Paralympics will take place from August 28 to September 8. This is a decision that has been made to minimize disruption to the worlds of fashion and sports.

Piccioli’s departure from his position as creative director at Valentino is still an extremely recent event. However, his latest fall 2024 collection, entirely in black, was something of an homage to the brand. It was like his farewell ode to the fashion house. The fact is that Valentino’s surprising decision not to design the team’s next men’s and couture collections based on Piccioli’s initial ideas has its significance. This indicates the possibility of a new designer coming, who may soon start working on a women’s line, and who may prefer to start from scratch with a clear playing field.

“Creativity will continue to be the heart and soul of our brand, a key element that shapes future collections, both ready-to-wear and haute couture, for both men and women. We will continue to elevate our brand DNA by exploring its iconic motifs and incomparable Italian heritage. These words were said in Valentino’s statement on Monday.

A surprising decision by Valentino, or is it really?

Information surrounding Piccioli’s departure is still limited to many speculations. Valentino announced that they will soon appoint a successor in the brand, which suggests some acceleration of this process. Some sources also suggest that former Gucci creative director Alessandro Michele will be his successor and is currently in contract negotiations.

Michele unexpectedly left Gucci in November 2022, and his non-compete clause is set to expire this month. On the other hand Valentino urgently needs a designer to avoid a long-term collection gap. Therefore, it is likely that the first collection of the new creative director will be prepared for the women’s line for the spring 2025 season. This is the opposite situation to the situation from years ago, when Michele had to assemble a collection for Gucci after the sudden departure of his predecessor. This time the expectations are much higher. “He used to be able to improvise, but now he is a famous designer. The first collection for Valentino must be flawless, a real hit,” comments one of the sources. So all we have to do is wait for the fashion house’s official statement on who will lead the brand back to the top.