Alessandro Michele’s Valentino collection puts 70s silhouettes in the Paris spotlight

PARIS (AP) — Against strobe lights that suggested seedy allure more than spectacle, Alessandro Michele’s Valentino collection showed restraint where once there was riot. Prim ’70s silhouettes — bows, ruching, velvet skirts — set a mood at Paris Fashion Week of controlled nostalgia.

The high point was a draped gold gown with a feathered white collar, evoking myth and Valentino’s Roman past. A polka-dot shirt, satin skirts split with bright yellow panels, and occasional colorblocking kept the eclectic spirit alive, though without the exuberant force Michele has deployed before.

That was the story of the show: less spectacle, more editing. Where Michele’s early collections for the house, and his Gucci tenure before that, thrived on sheer overload — tassels, turbans, ruffles, references pile