Couture house Valentino ropes in Alessandro Michele as Creative Director

Alessandro Michele is taking over the couture house Valentino as its new creative director. He will be taking over the role from Pierpaolo Piccioli who exited the brand after serving 25 years.

Alessandro was previously with Gucci as creative director of the Luxe label. He left Gucci in November 2022.

Alessandro started this week and his first collection for Valentino will be for the upcoming spring collection 2025. In a statement, Alessandro said,“It’s an incredible honour. I feel the immense joy and the huge responsibility to join a Maison de Couture that has the word ‘beauty’ carved on a collective story made of distinctive elegance, refinement and extreme grace.”

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Alessandro joined the Gucci design studio in 2002 following a stint as senior accessories designer at Fendi. He took over the responsibility of creative director of Richard Ginori, the porcelain brand acquired by Gucci in 2013. Michele was officially appointed to Gucci’s top creative role in January 2015, two days after he first took a bow at the end of the brand’s men’s fall 2015 show. At the time, he found favourites in names like Harry Styles and Billie Eilish who loved his style and spin to clothes. In an era dominated by quiet luxury, Gucci spoke and commanded attention.

With that show, many industry insiders suggest that he reinvented Gucci with a new, quirky androgynous aesthetic.

Meanwhile, Valentino’s last creative director, Pierpaolo Piccioli showcased aFall 2024 all-black collection during the Paris Fashion Week. He was named solo creative director of the luxury label in 2016.

On Monday (March 25), Valentino said it will besitting out menswear and couture weeks in June, generally shown in Paris.