The Valentino Garavani and Vans Authentic Arrives Alessandro Michele-Style
The Italian label’s creative director merges skate culture and couture for a playfully surreal range of canvas sneakers.
Name: Valentino Garavani and Vans Low-Top Trainer
MSRP: $490 USD
Release Date: Available Now
Where to Buy: Valentino
Maison Valentino‘s creative director, Alessandro Michele, is taking us to another dimension with his latest collaboration. In this cross-industry collection, Valentino’s director blurs the lines between skate culture and couture in a world-bending remix of a Vans classic.
In an official statement, Michele poses the question, “What happens when the unexpected bursts into our lives? Which sensations arise when what seemed solid dissolves under the blows of forces beyond our control?” The designer’s poetic call for a more open and fluid consciousness is symbolized in the water running through the campaign images. Through his clashing patterns and unconventional graphics, he calls the result “a dreamlike and surreal fresco where nature explodes, cracking the neat surface of architectures and technologies that surround us.”
In six styles for both men and women, Valentino put its spin on the classic low-top sneakers, keeping the canvas uppers and applying various technicolor prints, along with a special Valentino Le Chat de la Maison motif. The collaborators also introduce a monogram checkerboard pattern, shown in green with palm tree silhouettes on the toe box, and in a full-cover black and red variant. Elsewhere, a black and white checker is superimposed with bold red polka dots. Standing out in particular is an I Love Valentino x Vans print, reminiscent of souvenir typography.
The Valentino Garavani and Vans Low-Top Trainer is available now at the Valentino webstore and will be available in Valentino boutiques worldwide, Vans.com, and at the Vans flagship store in London on September 19.
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The campaign video and images were generated using AI, based on original visual material captured during the Valentino Le Méta-Théâtre Des Intimités show. All featured imagery was used with the informed consent of the models here portrayed and of all the talents involved in the execution of the show.
Creative Director: Alessandro Michele, Artwork: @EDGLRD, Music: @Aniports, Models: Bukwop @bukwopkir, Shane: @mama_trucker, Weiyi: @weiyifang_314, Paul: @paulthemontley
