Among the Baroque rooms of Palazzo Mignanelli, an unusual ritual has been unfolding for the past two years. It is that of Alessandro Michele, who has taken up residence in the studio once occupied by Valentino Garavani, bringing with him a sacred and profane aesthetic that unsettles the ordinary. To some, it might seem like a simple succession. But Michele’s work tells the story of a close dialogue between Valentino’s grace and the impetus of a new direction. The concept of “interference” offers a clear insight into what Michele wants to do. The Roman designer is redefining what it means to lead a historic fashion house today without forgetting its founder.
What Michele wants to do
Taking over a fashion house with decades of history behind it requires a precise intellectual stance. For Michele, the role of the contemporary designer is neither about museum-like preservation nor about erasing the past, but rather about a subtle and constant interference. He says as much to Harper’s Bazaar. “For twenty years, creative directors have had the task of interfering with the history of brands, with someone else’s work. And it is beautiful to see two things so different from each other coming together, merging to create something new”.
Michele approaches this role with the curious gaze of someone who always feels like a guest. He looks at the archives as scripts with which to rewrite the present. His vision certainly does not seek stylistic resemblance to Garavani, but it shares his absolute belief in the subversive power of imagination. Valentino sought the immutable perfection of a classic, flawless elegance. Michele draws instead on the human element, on calibrated imperfection, on the calculated dissonance of an out-of-place detail that breathes new life into a garment.
The chaos of re(creation)
At the heart of this process of reclaiming the brand is Rome, a shared point of reference but one interpreted through opposing lenses. If, for Valentino, the capital represented the marble solemnity of goddesses, the sculptural perfection of drapery and the harmony of classical forms, for Michele the city is a chaotic layering of eras, styles and emotions superimposed upon one another. It is from this clash between high and low that Michele’s idea of fashion takes shape. His approach to the brand resembles an exercise in making discordant elements coexist.
Archive lace engages in dialogue with denim, haute couture shares the runway with theatrical masks, and red returns in its purest form. Unconsciously seeking an ancestral approval — and perhaps that of the founder — Michele is the clearest example of a generation of designers who believe that interfering with a brand’s memory does not mean desecrating it. Rather, it means restoring its ability to surprise, transforming tradition into something raw, unstable and wonderfully contemporary.
Photo from Valentino’s website
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