Valentino, led by Alessandro Michele, steals the show in Paris | Paris Fashion Week

Valentino was the hottest brand at Paris Fashion Week, and the show had the momentum to match.

The vast floor was covered with tiles of broken mirrors, shining like a post-earthquake ball. Beneath the white sheets were 500 armchairs and a few glowing lamps, as if the grand house had been locked up for a long winter. The house of Valentino has shaken off the cobwebs and hit the dance floor for a new era.

Here’s to one of fashion’s biggest characters, the baseball cap-and-pearl-wearing maverick, designer Alessandro Michele, who quotes Heidegger and vacations with Harry Styles, to fashion’s top table. It was the return of

Michele led Gucci to glory, tripling annual revenues to $10bn (£7.5bn) during her tenure and making a name for herself by making Gucci one of fashion’s most exciting brands over five years. Valentino and Gucci have long competed for bragging rights in the Italian fashion world, so Michele’s signing with Valentino not only brings his protagonist’s energies back to the center of fashion, but also increases the heat in their rivalry. It turns out. In non-fashion terms, this Valentino show would be Jurgen Klopp’s first match at Old Trafford if he were to take over as Manchester United manager.

Weird, hippie-bearded Michele is an interesting choice for this house. Founder Valentino Garavani, who went out of business 16 years ago at the age of 76, has taken to court with his tanned mahogany skin and canine friends over a bygone glamorous era. His holidays were spent with Jackie Onassis.

Michele took Valentino’s bejeweled Roman sophistication and spiked it with the same magpie spirit that animated Gucci. Not only was there a crisp, ladylike jacket, but there was also a crystal nose ring. Romantic tiered gowns and kitschy bellboy jackets. 70’s haute bourgeoisie women in flowing chiffon and Gen Z boys with tattoos and pearls.

Models’ faces were often veiled, dramatically shaded under picture hats, or adorned with jewels threaded from molar to molar to rest above the lower lip. . Adult handbags were carried by chain straps dragging in a messy manner, like teddy bears carried in one arm.

It shouldn’t have worked, but it did. Beneath the noisy mess, Michele conjures up a very special world. It’s sophisticated, sensual iconoclasm with a huge ego and plenty of charm. The strategy here was drawn from his success at Gucci, but the references were new and unique to Valentino.

Each layer had a precise silhouette. Every detail had a story behind it. According to Michele, fashion is all about feeling, so the nose and mouth were decorated. He consulted archives from the 1970s, “Valentino’s golden age,” along with valuables from the 1960s to the early 1980s. The matchstick red, Valentino’s house color, shone brightly.

Valentino is about one-fifth the size of Gucci, but Kering, which owns a 30% stake, has ambitions to scale up to compete with fashion giants. To do that, Valentino needs to grab people’s attention, and that’s where Michele comes in. While his quirky clothes may not be to everyone’s taste, his aesthetic is as much about the styling as the clothing, and he creates fashion that captures the imagination.

The show was packed with ideas and tricks that would be worn by far more audiences than could afford Valentino’s price tag. Turbans, polka-dot gloves, layers of white lace tights and ankle socks, glasses paired with John Lennon beanies, and little black bows dotted around. All over my braids, like butterflies on lavender.

One of the beasts in the fashion world, Michelle injected some energy into the final day of catwalk season. He described the collection as “the fascination of the world” with “the sacredness of a milk-filled breast…the pursuit of a firefly seeking love…the feel of organdy frills…the miracle of a library”. Wearing a red checked shirt and jeans, he told reporters after the show: Obviously, that’s me. But I have a beautiful new home. ”