Valentino’s creative director Pierpaolo Piccioli is always in top form. In September of this year, the style veteran won Best International Women’s Designer of the Year at the CFDA Fashion Awards. It was a well-deserved honor as Piccioli’s astute eye for crafting drama-filled couture pieces and directing emotionally captivating campaigns has earned the 53-year-old much praise since solely taking over the house since 2016. Prior to that, he was co-creative director since 2008 with Maria Grazia Chiuri who eventually left to helm Dior.

In 2020, Piccioli’s design language was more about human connection and humanity — “Empathy” was the title of Valentino’s FW20 campaign. The visual’s initiative was also a fundraising project to support the Lazzaro Spallanzani Hospital in Italy, which struggled at the height of Covid-19 in the country. Gwyneth Paltrow, Naomi Campbell and Janet Mock amongst other friends of Piccioli, took part to submit images of themselves wearing Valentino at home for the campaign. All celebrity participants waived their usual talent fees and Valentino instead donated €1 million Euro to the Lazzaro Spallanzani Hospital.

Elsewhere in 2020, Valentino proved that the maison’s menswear can still captivate fans and the industry. A collaboration with Onitsuka Tiger for a Mexico 66 SD model dropped earlier in the year in a variety of eye-catching tones. Valentino also linked with retailer MYTHERESA for a sleek capsule that included printed wares, modern suiting and refined staples. A Birkenstock collab also materialized this year as well as an announcement of a partnership alongside the Craig Green team for the Valentino Garavani Rockstud X Project. The special initiative will Valentino team up with other creatives to create mens accessories inspired by the house’s signature stud embellishment.