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The brand's creative director Pierpaolo Piccioli is aiming to leave "traditional machismo" behind, revisiting menswear codes as he showed several jackets worn over shorts and skirts for spring 2024.

“It’s very important to me to redefine the masculine identity,” said Piccioli after the show, held in the courtyard of Milan’s Statale University. “It should not follow the rules of society or the perfection associated with success. Society relegates men in [pre-determined] boxes because it’s easier, but the real power is to be free, even showing some fragility while being resilient.”

Piccioli revisited the traditional menswear codes, wishing “to avoid any uproar,” and in this vein, the Valentino man has no qualms about wearing a flowing silk coat embellished with a floral pattern, or an emerald green jacket embroidered with flowers and sequins. Any shade of pink is no longer a taboo, nor is a skirt worn under a perfectly tailored blazer.

“The collection is anchored in the traditional rules of tailoring, once a symbol of power and success, but rendered contemporary, with shorter pants or skirts, as an expression of individuality,” said Piccioli, who, to be fair, has long been questioning conventions with his designs, shifting the brand from a concept of lifestyle to that of a community.