Italy is a country that makes you notice everything. Everything calls out to you from every direction shades, colors, scents, objects, details, architecture. The old and the new blend together, yet within it all lies a deep, woven history a legacy of designers and visionaries who left their mark on brands that tell stories like legends.

In the same way, as I passed through the lobby of a serene hotel with a touch of refined luxury, my eye caught an elegant book that made me stop. I leafed through its pages, and the photographs told the story of a fashion legend.

The iconic founder of the Valentino fashion house, Valentino Garavani, appeared across the glossy pages, dressed in luxury, alongside film stars and global celebrities. All were adorned in their finest attire, raising glasses of champagne, smiling wide, radiant smiles.

Those were days when beauty felt authentic without filters, without artificial intelligence. Through those images, I could sense the spirit of that era and absorb its glow through places, events, and dreamlike landscapes. It felt like a vanished world, stardust slowly fading away.

In January 2026, the legendary founder Valentino Garavani passed away at the age of 93. His passing marked the official end of an era the era of classical couture and traditional Italian elegance. In a symbolic and strategic move, the fashion house decided to bring its final runway shows back to Rome, the city where it all began, reconnecting with its roots and heritage.

And from here, a personal note about my own work: the current direction of Valentino under Alessandro Michele is dramatic, chaotic, humorous, expressive, and unapologetic. And precisely there in that same intensity and freedommy Barbie series lives. Free, liberated, fully alive, embracing life with intensity and without apology.