At Valentino, Alessandro Michele staged a thoughtful spectacle that was as cerebral as it was luminous. Titled Fireflies, the SS26 show drew its conceptual pulse from the words of filmmaker Pier Paolo Pasolini. In 1941, amid the shadow of war, Pasolini wrote of fireflies – tiny, flickering bursts of desire and life that endure even in the blackest nights. Decades later, reflecting on post-war Italy’s drive toward cultural conformity, he mourned the “disappearance of the fireflies,” a warning against surrendering to darkness.
Yet, as art historian Georges Didi-Huberman reminds us, these sparks never fully vanish – they demand an attuned gaze. Like those ephemeral lights, creativity and hope endure: fragile, fleeting, but potent. They offer glimpses of beauty, resistance, and possibility that refuse to be homogenised.
Michele’s runway became precisely this kind of observatory. Fashion, in his hands, is revelation: a medium capable of conjuring transient magic, political resonance, and human connection. Fireflies was ephemeral yet insistent, transforming the catwalk into a constellation of light, charting new imaginaries while celebrating the resilient radiance of life itself.
The show opened with a baby-blue ruffled mini dress layered over tailored citron-yellow trousers – a juxtaposition of innocence and audacity. Michele’s mastery of colour reached new heights: cobalt-blue silk blouses with billowing sleeves and power shoulders or their mustard variations paired with buttoned pencil skirts in purple, punctuated with hot-pink open-toed pumps.
Eveningwear shimmered with equal rigour. Lightweight double-breasted blazers, adorned in micro polka dots, featured audacious fold details; sequined jackets caught the light alongside statement gold necklaces. Silk dresses draped gracefully, accented with dyed feathers around the neckline, while a long-sleeved black V-neck gown sparkled with a dusty-pink leaf appliqué – a testament to Michele’s poetic eye.
In Fireflies, Michele reminded us that fashion is not mere ornamentation but a language of attention: a call to notice what persists in shadow, and to celebrate what refuses to be dimmed.
Words by Martin Onufrowicz
