Creative Director Alessandro Michele's debut Valentino collection came with the Cruise 2025 line, which meshed retro Roman elegance and timeless style.

After <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/fashion/pierpaolo-piccioli-and-valentino-end-25-year-partnership">Pierpaolo Piccioli</a> departed his long-held position as creative director at <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/fashion-week/valentino-fall-winter-2024-collection">Valentino</a> in March, speculation on his successor commenced immediately. But for the Italian fashion house born in Rome, there was only one clear candidate to take up the mantle: <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/fashion/alessandro-michele-facts-valentino-gucci">Alessandro Michele</a>. After two decades in Milan as a creative force at <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/fashion/gucci-campaign-we-will-always-have-london">Gucci</a> (where he honed in on his unique, identifiable style), the time came for the designer to return home to Rome.&nbsp;
&ldquo;I know what women want. They want to be beautiful,&rdquo; <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/fashion/valentino-garavani-design-signatures-red-leopard-print">Valentino Garavani</a> famously said. Michele, too, knows what women want, and through his decades of experience as a visionary designer, he has found Garavani&rsquo;s original hypothesis still rings true for his work.
Michele shocked the fashion world earlier this year after moving up his debut collection&mdash;originally slated for September&rsquo;s Spring/Summer 2025 collection&mdash;by releasing the Valentino Cruise 2025 in June. The expansive line has more than 170 looks. Infused with a retro-inspired glamour, each style is an effortless blend of details that pull from Valentino&rsquo;s signature codes and Michele&rsquo;s eccentric touch.&nbsp;
Through prim bow-toed <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/shopping/kitten-heel-boots">kitten heels</a>, generously pearled <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/fashion/louis-vuitton-le-damier-fine-jewelry-collection-launch">jewelry</a>, ruffle-collared chiffon blouses, and fur-trimmed overcoats, Michele&rsquo;s vision of timeless Roman elegance comes to life. Playful polka dots, sleek V-monogrammed handbags, and gentle pastels touch on the late 1960s, early &lsquo;70s, and especially Valentino&rsquo;s more opulent &lsquo;80s, which Michele will continue to explore in future collections. 
Michele never compromises, and future collections are sure to exude this same ultra-cool, vintage-inspired allure.

All photos Valentino Cruise 2025, courtesy of Valentino

Valentino Cruise 2025. Photography: Courtesy of Valentino

Inside Alessandro Michele’s Valentino Debut: Cruise 2025's Roman Elegance

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