Avant les Débuts with VALENTINO
*A Love Letter Rewritten
written MONICA DE LUNA
Maison Valentino’s Valentine’s Day 2025 is a riot of intimacy and rebellion. Under Alessandro Michele’s audacious creative direction, the ‘Avant les Débuts’ collection fractures traditional romance and pieces it back together into something electrifying.
Michele crafts accessories as conduits for emotion. Valentino Garavani’s signature Rockstud evolves into jagged, elongated forms—a tactile declaration of passion’s complexity. The collection hums with tension: metal edges collide with supple leather, each piece demanding touch while resisting easy understanding. These are objects that engage with desire in its purest form.
MAISON VALENTINO
Valentine´s Day Gifts 2025
The campaign imagery pulses with energy, refusing stasis. Sienna Murdoch’s kinetic work infuses an almost spectral quality—earrings captured mid-motion, belts twisting as if alive. Natasha Stagg’s layered prose threads through the visuals, creating a fragmented narrative that invites curiosity and disorientation.
Color in this collection agitates rather than soothes. Deep carmine flares against muted blush, with threads of gold drawing the viewer into unexpected depths. Michele uses these tones to evoke the sensory aftermath of unforgettable connection, each shade alive with intent.
Sound becomes another layer of storytelling. Frederic Sanchez’s auditory composition infects the campaign, with metallic whispers and creaking leather forming an intimate, voyeuristic atmosphere. These pieces don’t merely exist; they resonate, breathe, and linger.
‘Avant les Débuts’ transcends Valentine’s Day conventions, reimagining love as an experience of power and vulnerability. Alessandro Michele invites us to let go of sentimentality and embrace something sharper and more vital. Maison Valentino’s latest creation provokes, unsettles, and demands to be felt.
