The new Valentino Garavani and Vans collaboration is here With a campaign that evokes the symbolic power of water
The long-awaited collaboration between Valentino Garavani and Vans Authentic was presented today worldwide, a union that blends the opulent elegance of the Italian fashion house with the casual and rebellious essence of the Californian skate brand, already unveiled during Paris Fashion Week for the brand's FW25 collection. The collaboration emerges as an unexpected bridge between two seemingly distant worlds: on the one hand, Valentino's sophisticated heritage, rich in retro influences and exuberant decorations under the guidance of Creative Director Alessandro Michele, and on the other, the iconic silhouette of Vans Authentic, a symbol of street culture and youthful freedom. This partnership is not just an exercise in style, but the centerpiece of a campaign that invites reflection on sudden disruptions in everyday life, a theme dear to Michele. The campaign, in fact, revolves around the concept of nature's intrusion into human structures, symbolized by water as a primordial and transformative force.
In a personal letter released for the launch, Alessandro Michele outlines this vision with evocative words: “What happens when the unexpected bursts into our lives? What sensations arise when what seemed solid dissolves under the advance of forces beyond our control?” Continuing, the designer explains how he crafted “a reflection through images: a dreamlike and surreal fresco in which nature suddenly bursts in, cracking the orderly surface of the architectures and technologies around us.” Michele emphasizes the impact of this element: “It is an unexpected, even violent impact, capable of dismantling the illusion of stability and bringing us back to a more vulnerable and fluid dimension. Yet, it foreshadows something new.”
Water, central to this narrative, becomes a metaphor for chaos and rebirth: “Water perfectly embodies this unsettling force: a primordial element, an undifferentiated matter that precedes form, a womb that both nurtures and dissolves. It is the topos of the unconscious, capable of overwhelming the rational frameworks on which our lives rest. Water stirs, disorients, erases boundaries. It is an archetype of danger, loss, and return to the indistinct, but also of rebirth and purification.” In the campaign, this translates into images where Euclidean space shatters, and bodies float in a liquid stage: “In this dream of liberation, water is an element that cracks Euclidean space, dissolving rigid geometries and transforming life into a liquid stage where bodies and garments move like suspended apparitions, between intimacy and catastrophe, between surrender and resistance. It is the vertigo of dissolution. But also the promise of a new beginning.” These words not only accompany the promotional photos and videos but imbue the collaboration with a deeper meaning, transforming the sneakers into emblems of resilience and fluidity in an ever-changing world.
The campaign’s video and images were generated using AI, based on original visual material from the Valentino Le Méta-Théâtre Des Intimités show. All images used were created with the informed consent of the models portrayed and all talents involved in the production of the show.
