Creative Director Alessandro Michele staged Valentino’s Spring/Summer 2027 collection at Paris’s Bibliothèque Sainte-Geneviève on October 4, 2026, asking front-row guests including Cynthia Erivo and Naomi Watts to bring books for local libraries under an Antibiblioteca
theme.
Guests received show invitations designed as booklets listing 68 unread titles and arrived clutching physical volumes intended for later donation to local public libraries. Valentino turned its runway into a study in unread literature and maximalist design as Alessandro Michele presented his spring 2027 collection inside the 19th-century reading room of the Bibliothèque Sainte-Geneviève in Paris’s Latin Quarter on Sunday, October 4, 2026. The Roman designer, who has led the luxury house since March 2024, built the presentation around the concept of the antilibrary—a term coined by the late Italian writer Umberto Eco to describe a collection of unread books whose value lies in what they might still contain.
Celebrities Bring Books to Match Library Theme
Zoey Deutch carried Elizabeth Kolbert’s Pulitzer Prize-winning nonfiction book, The Sixth Extinction,
while Cynthia Erivo arrived clutching a book. The star-studded audience brought their own reading material to match strict front-row instructions tied to the Antibiblioteca theme. Other notable figures taking their seats at long oak reading tables under the library’s iron latticework ceiling included Anna Wintour, Colman Domingo, Joe Alwyn, Clairo, Samara Weaving, and Alexander Skarsgård.
Alexander Skarsgård wore a button-through menswear leopard coat open over a pale pink V-neck knit and purple track trousers, completing his look with Valentino Garavani loafers. Several attendees doubled down on statement outerwear from the brand’s Resort 2027 collection. Zoey Deutch chose the floor-length womenswear leopard coat featuring a high neckline and faux fur-trimmed sleeves, pairing the wild outerwear with yellow satin Enigme 105 pumps retailing for $980 and a studded caramel-colored shoulder bag.
Valentino Collection Features Maximalist Silhouettes and Caps
Alessandro Michele has rolled out four catwalk shows for Valentino since taking the helm. The 80-look collection featured satin bustier tops paired with plissé skirts, floral jacquards and lacquered fabric with fur-finished hems. Models also walked past the bookshelves in tight silk corset tops in bright blue, yellow, and hot pink, while evening wear included longer-length ruffle and bow-adorned dresses designed with red-carpet appearances in mind.
Among the recurring accessories was a baseball cap emblazoned with the words Villain Teen.
First seen in the Resort collection, the cap reappeared on the spring runway styled with double-pleated jeans, plaid shirts, and chunky baroque gold necklaces and giant pearl earrings. Michele explained that he enjoyed how the phrase sounded a bit like Villain-Teen-O
.
Michele Defends Maximalist Approach Against Digital Automation
Michele framed his anti-library collection as an ode to human touch amid the rise of digital automation and artificial intelligence. Pointing to the value of clothes that remain unread or unworn in wardrobes, the designer defended his maximalist approach against industry trends prioritizing a toned-down aesthetic. I don’t want to live fashion just as something that belongs to numbers,
Michele explained. I want to give back to fashion what fashion has always given me.