Paris Fashion Week: Valentino’s fireflies, Hermès’ horsewomen and Celine’s accessory-heavy presentation
Meanwhile, Chloé presented draped outfits, Jean Paul Gaultier brought back moulded bras à la Madonna, and McQueen turned to horror film The Wicker Man
Alessandro Michele has been at Valentino for almost two years now. Since he joined the brand, which is partly owned by Kering – the luxury group behind Gucci and Balenciaga – Valentino has gone through some management changes, including the arrival of a new CEO in recent months.
He is a master at creating a spectacle and knows how to make an impact with his shows, but it’s yet to be seen whether that strong vision is resonating with the label’s existing customers – or recruiting new ones.
Named Fireflies, the spring/summer 2026 show was inspired by a letter that Italian writer and director Pier Paolo Pasolini wrote in 1941, when he was a young student in Bologna during World War II.
In that missive, Pasolini described how he felt a sense of hope while seeing those iridescent bugs amid the brutality of the war. He also felt envious as he imagined them engaging in amorous encounters in the middle of the night.
Michele, who like Pasolini is an avid reader and loves nothing more than a literary reference, saw the firefly as a symbol of hope and an escape from the fraught reality we live in. For him, fashion can be a source of light, enchanting and inspiring with sparks of beauty, he explained in the show notes.
While the firefly motif appeared in pieces such as necklaces and earrings, Michele wasn’t too literal in his approach. He evoked the insect’s fragility through sheer and shimmery dresses that almost came undone on the body.