Valentino's Holiday Campaign Shows the Morning After
Valentino has released campaign images for its Cruise Holiday 2027 collection, and they show a party that has already ended. Models lounge and rest in an antique palazzo, the grand Italian townhouse, among the debris of the night before.
The set is littered with shattered glasses, silver plates and overturned chairs. Chandeliers lie fallen on the floor. A cruise collection is a resort-style range shown between the main fashion seasons, and this one is tied to the idea of holidays and parties.
The photographs were shot in July by Liv Liberg. They feature the models George Anderson, Joe Bottomer, Khadim, Libby Taverner and Dario Tonin. The campaign was created under Alessandro Michele, the creative director who leads the Rome-based house's design work.
In WWD, Michele described the party aftermath as a metaphor for change in fashion. In his account, the industry is redefining its languages, its values and its relationship with society.
He also said he had questioned whether to release the images at all. At one point, he said, he considered abandoning the campaign.
Michele linked the imagery to recent protests in Europe over high living costs. He also pointed to riots in which shop windows were damaged. Those events, in his account, are part of the reason the campaign looks the way it does.
A campaign image is usually built to be pleasant to look at. This one asks viewers to look at what is left after the celebration, which is a different kind of invitation.
