Valentino SS24 Menswear Follows a Contemporary Narrative

Valentino kicked off Milan Fashion Week today, introducing its Spring/Summer 2024 menswear debuts at the center of the hustle and bustle of Università degli Studi di Milano’s campus. In a collection titled “The Narratives,” Creative Director Pierpaolo Piccioli conceived designs for the upcoming year that felt both enduring and fresh, employing notions of timelessness to define masculinity as it applies to the present moment.

Noting the shift in perspectives relating to identity, Piccioli embraced the changing tides of masculine dressing, which lately has lent into finding strength in vulnerability and gentleness. Though the esteemed Valentino codes are intact, rules of rigidity were replaced with tenderness and affection. This was applied quite to softened fabrications—like cotton poplin, lightweight suiting, laser-cut mesh, and knits in loose stitching—and flowery motifs and prints, which made an appearance throughout the runway show.

Tailoring and other staples of the men’s wardrobe traded ideas of power, success, and uniformity for a new means of embracing individuality. We saw this new expression take place through colorful ensembles in monochrome styling, which opted for choices like shorts replacing trousers and cuts that were supple and slightly roomy—including looks like a pair of tailored shorts and a shirt and tie paired with a gauzy knit duster, a flowery suit in green with an oversized short-sleeved blazer, and a look combining slouchy trousers, a knit tee, an overcoat, and sneakers.

A unique point of inspiration for Piccioli’s designs, as well, was the author Hanya Yanagihara’s novel A Little Life. Yanagihara’s words “We are so old, we have become young again” rang true through the presentation’s youthful attitude, and even made an appearance as graphics printed on suit jackets.

In addition to initiatives that accompanied the runway show, like new efforts towards sustainability and a scholarship program benefitting students at the university venue, the collection also included a collaboration with PORTER. Unfolding during the presentation was a special capsule of bags, including those like the maison’sLocò bag in PORTER nylon and a suite of the handbag maker’s signature styles (a messenger, a briefcase, a tote, and a sling bag) in Valentino’s Toile Iconographe.