New Valentino Is Here — But How Does It Look On The Red Carpet?

Fashion thrives on the new and never-before-seen, and loves change. Last year, Alessandro Michele — king of kangaroo-fur loafers and peasant dresses fit for Florence Welch — returned to the fashion-sphere as creative director of Valentino after a decade-long stint at Gucci. Michele is back to dressing stars in diaphanous long-sleeve gowns, and mere days into 2025, we’re taking stock: Consider this your Valentino red-carpet report card.

One of the first glimpses we got of the brand’s new direction was on the BoF 500 Gala in Sept. 2024, where Hari Nef joined long-time friend Michele in a long-sleeved, turban-adorned look from his Resort 2025 collection. Lana Del Rey wore a fur stole and similarly tiered dress a month later at the InStyle Imagemaker Awards and looked like an Old Hollywood starlet, pin-up hair and all. With these two looks, the “spot the difference” comparison between Old Gucci and New Valentino was, well, negligible.

The look that fully turned our heads (beside Alexa Chung’s excellent street-style moment) was Kaia Gerber at W’s Best Performances Party in a Pre-Fall 2025 polka-dot black-and-white strapless dress. No lace or fussy frills here, just a cyan bow at her waist. It’s youthful yet timeless, sexy yet refined, and her wavy side part tied it all together. Charlotte Lawrence and Elle Fanning — two of the cutest blondes on our style radar — have both worn boho dresses during recent appearances. Fanning’s princess-cake confection of a dress was offset by a fur jacket and Cartier jewels, leaning into the rich Swiss princess of it all and embodying a bygone time of decadence. Most importantly, she looked great.

While the runway hasn’t sold me yet, Valentino’s take on celebrity fashion is headed in the right direction. Michele still has the range to dress people and help them embody a different era, but I still see a few too many similarities to his Gucci, especially with the more densely patterned gowns (see: Cynthia Erivo’s miss at the Red Sea Film Festival) and clashing of cultural signifiers. It’s most successful on celebrities when it’s the lightest — aka, the least accessorized — and most specific.

In the interest of indulging our prophetic senses and pure harmless fun, here’s a few dream look-celebrity pairings for stylists to consider before awards season is over. Monica Barbaro’s complexion would match this true-blue ruffled dress to perfection, and while Harris Dickinson is firmly team Prada, he’d look dapper in the polka-dot suit (sans turban). Lastly, Dakota Fanning should join her sister as a Valentino girl and wear the above sequined bolero jacket, maybe to an industry lunch. The lesson: Trust the kids to bring the best out of the clothes and bring them into 2025 with great skin — and fewer headpieces.