Valentino fashion show: Alessandro Michele turns intimacy into a show
How far can intimacy be staged? For his Autumn-Winter 2025-2026 show, Alessandro Michele proposes a troubling reflection on identity, unveiling and illusion. In a setting reminiscent of a sublimated public restroom, the designer blurs the boundaries between interiority and exhibition, transforming clothing into a game of appearances.
Alessandro Michele’s theater of shifting intimacies
Inspired by the idea of a “meta-theater of intimacies”, Alessandro Michele deconstructs the very notion of self. Far from seeking an authentic self, he imagines an identity in constant mutation, shaped by the interweaving of the private and the collective. Deceptive superimpositions and ambivalent transparencies give clothing a dual function: to protect while revealing. Materials oscillate between softness and hardness: crumpled velvet, metallic flashes and muted hues translate this tension between introspection and staging.
A David Lynch-style performance
The world of the fashion show plunges the spectator into a cinematic and enigmatic atmosphere, reminiscent of the films of David Lynch. The space becomes a moving stage, where each passage raises questions: are we masters of our own image, or mere actors in an imposed role?
With this visual and philosophical manifesto, Alessandro Michele is not proposing a simple collection, but a profound reflection: intimacy is no longer a refuge, it’s a spectacle in which each individual constantly reinvents himself.
Read also: Alexander McQueen fashion show: Seán McGirr reinvents the Victorian dandy
