Valentino to hold men’s fashion show in Milan

Valentino is returning to Milan to show its menswear collection. The Roman luxury house has decided to end its co-ed shows, a format it adopted during the three-year Covid pandemic, from September 2020 to March 2023. Entitled ‘The Narratives’, its next men’s show for Spring/Summer 2024 will open Milan Fashion Week on June 16.
 

The show will be held at 2pm in Milan’s historic university, the Università degli Studi di Milano Statale, “at a time when the university is bustling and teeming with students,” the brand said, adding that students will be invited to attend the show, offering them “a total immersion in the house’s world of excellence and craftsmanship, attention to detail and spirit of innovation to inspire and stimulate the next generation through a creative exchange.”
 
The label, owned by the Qatari investment fund Mayhoola, has always had a close connection with the Lombardy capital. During the pandemic, in September 2020, the brand chose to show in Milan, before returning to the capital in Feburary 2021 to put on a show behind closed doors at the Piccolo Teatro.

It was also in Milan that the founder of the house, Valentino Garavani, held his very first men’s fashion show in January 1985, where the men’s collections continued to be presented until 2012. Building on the menswear’s Milanese beginnings, creative director Pierpaolo Piccioli “intends to redefine what was initiated here, taking the men’s wardrobe in an ever more contemporary direction,” the brand says.
 
Separating the men’s and women’s ready-to-wear shows and choosing a different and dedicated location to present each collection will elevate the menswear “singularly strong moment.” Valentino wants to put more emphasis on this category, as the house explains in its statement. “Although the category continues to dialogue with women’s fashion, the focus is now on menswear, reflecting Pierpaolo Piccioli’s redefinition of masculine codes and the growing importance of this category.”
 
“The growing importance of Valentino menswear has been confirmed over the seasons. For the Unboxing Valentino collection, the brand launched Maison Valentino Essentials, a selection of menswear essentials that rethinks traditional rules and boundaries, taking menswear to something even more open and free,” the label continues, referring to the designer’s desire to “evolve these basics, pushing the boundaries of formal fashion.”