Creative director Alessandro Michele opted for a return to roots for Valentino’s fall/winter 2026 ready-to-wear collection, Interferenze. Photos: Handout
The glamorous front row at the show in Palazzo Barberini included Gwyneth Paltrow, Colman Domingo, Lily Allen, Tyla and Thai star Jeff Satur
Two years into his tenure as creative director, Alessandro Michele – whose near-decade in the same role at Gucci redefined the house’s codes – brought Valentino back to its roots with the fall/winter 2026 ready-to-wear collection, Interferenze. Staged at the storied Palazzo Barberini in Rome, the show marked the maison’s first official return to its founder’s hometown since Valentino Garavani’s passing in January.
Gwyneth Paltrow arrives at the Valentino fall/winter 2026 show, held at Palazzo Barberini in Rome, on March 12. Photo: Getty Images
It featured a star-studded front row with Gwyneth Paltrow and Colman Domingo turning heads in bold coloured ensembles. Lily Allen, Tyla and Thai star Jeff Satur were also in attendance.
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Valentino’s fall/winter 2026 show was held at Palazzo Barberini in Rome. Photo: Handout
The Baroque setting of the 17th-century palace provided a fitting stage with its grand, rigid architecture offset by Pietro da Cortona’s sweeping Triumph of Divine Providence mural. The interplay of polarity and coexistence echoes throughout Michele’s collection.
Signature red used against various other shades at the Valentino fall/winter 2026 show. Photo: Handout
Heavily referencing the 1980s – a decade the creative director described as a “time of positivity and shiny things” when women were “in control of their presence and their body”, and an homage to his mother – Interferenze explores the elegance of contradiction. Flowing chiffon gowns met sculpted shoulders, satin cummerbunds cinched fluid silhouettes, and sharply tailored menswear was juxtaposed with soft draping.
Tailored menswear was part of the Valentino fall/winter 2026 collection. Photo: Handout
Valentino red appeared against shades of mint, lilac and black, while oversized jewellery, visor-style glasses, plush furs and Rockstud heels heightened the tension between Michele and Garavani’s Valentino.
A model sporting a satin cummerbund at the Valentino fall/winter 2026 show. Photo: Handout
