An Italian palazzo becomes the stage for Valentino’s latest campaign, where art, movement and identity unfold through the lens of Alessandro Michele.
There is a sense of time unfolding rather than passing. For Pre-Fall 2026, Valentino turns to the work and world of Cy Twombly, staging its campaign inside the artist’s palazzo in Bassano in Teverina. Shot by Johnny Dufort and styled by Jonathan Kaye, the project features musician and ambassador Sombr alongside model Apolline Rocco Fohrer. Conceived as a multimedia campaign, it unfolds in Italy and builds a dialogue between past and present.
The palazzo, acquired by Twombly in 1975, operates as more than a setting. Its walls, surfaces and sculptures hold traces of a practice grounded in gesture and accumulation. The campaign inhabits that condition. It moves through the space without fixing it, allowing the environment to shape the images.
This gesture connects to the house’s own history. In 1968, Henry Clarke photographed Valentino Garavani’s designs in Twombly’s Roman home. Alessandro Michele returns to that moment through interpretation rather than reconstruction, activating continuity instead of nostalgia.
Clothing introduces contrast and movement. Velvets, lace and silhouettes that echo historical forms appear against the austerity of the interiors, shifting the atmosphere as bodies move. The garments act on the space, altering its rhythm.
Casting extends this reading. Sombr brings a contemporary cultural register linked to music, while Apolline Rocco Fohrer anchors the composition. Their presence keeps the narrative open, in line with Twombly’s sculptures, where form remains in process.
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