# Valentino: creative directors and runway casting

> Alessandro Michele is Valentino’s creative director, a role announced in March 2024. Before: Pierpaolo Piccioli (2016–2024). Checked 22 October 2026. Valentino has had 5 creative leads since 1960, each sourced on this page. No Valentino runway walks are on the Cast Index ledger yet.

- Canonical: https://thecastindex.com/houses/valentino
- Updated: 2026-10-22
- Author: Kaiser Khan (Founder & Editor)
- Based in: Rome, Italy
- House tier (methodology Appendix A): A
- Creative-director record checked: 22 October 2026

## Who is the creative director of Valentino?

Alessandro Michele is Valentino’s creative director, a role announced in March 2024. Before: Pierpaolo Piccioli (2016–2024). Checked 22 October 2026.

Michele was named six days after Pierpaolo Piccioli’s exit and showed his first Valentino collection, spring/summer 2025, in Paris in September 2024. He presented spring/summer 2027 in a Paris library reading room on 4 October 2026. The founder, Valentino Garavani, died in Rome on 19 January 2026. ([source](https://fashionunited.uk/news/fashion/fashion-week-ss27-a-brief-moment-of-stability/2026102190967))

Previously: Pierpaolo Piccioli (2016–2024).

## Who have been Valentino’s creative directors?

In order: Valentino Garavani (founder, 1960–2008), Alessandra Facchinetti (2007–2008), Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pierpaolo Piccioli (2008–2016), Pierpaolo Piccioli (2016–2024), Alessandro Michele (2024–present). Each entry in the timeline on this page links its source.

| Years | Name | Role | Source |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1960–2008 | Valentino Garavani | Founder and couturier, Rome (with his business partner Giancarlo Giammetti) | [FashionNetwork — Valentino Garavani dies aged 93 (19 January 2026)](https://us.fashionnetwork.com/news/Valentino-garavani-dies-aged-93,1799052.html); [WWD — Facchinetti to replace Valentino (5 September 2007)](https://wwd.com/fashion-news/fashion-features/facchinetti-to-replace-valentino-1031281/) |
| 2007–2008 | Alessandra Facchinetti | Creative director of the women’s collections | [WWD — Facchinetti to replace Valentino (5 September 2007)](https://wwd.com/fashion-news/fashion-features/facchinetti-to-replace-valentino-1031281/); [WWD — Valentino confirms Maria Grazia Chiuri’s exit, appoints Pierpaolo Piccioli creative director (7 July 2016)](https://wwd.com/fashion-news/designer-luxury/maria-grazia-chiuri-leaving-valentino-pierpaolo-piccioli-sole-creative-director-10483128/) |
| 2008–2016 | Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pierpaolo Piccioli | Creative directors | [WWD — Valentino confirms Maria Grazia Chiuri’s exit, appoints Pierpaolo Piccioli creative director (7 July 2016)](https://wwd.com/fashion-news/designer-luxury/maria-grazia-chiuri-leaving-valentino-pierpaolo-piccioli-sole-creative-director-10483128/) |
| 2016–2024 | Pierpaolo Piccioli | Sole creative director | [WWD — Valentino confirms Maria Grazia Chiuri’s exit, appoints Pierpaolo Piccioli creative director (7 July 2016)](https://wwd.com/fashion-news/designer-luxury/maria-grazia-chiuri-leaving-valentino-pierpaolo-piccioli-sole-creative-director-10483128/); [FashionNetwork — Valentino names Alessandro Michele new creative director (28 March 2024)](https://us.fashionnetwork.com/news/Breaking-news-valentino-names-alessandro-michele-new-creative-director,1619594.html) |
| 2024–present (current) | Alessandro Michele | Creative director | [FashionNetwork — Valentino names Alessandro Michele new creative director (28 March 2024)](https://us.fashionnetwork.com/news/Breaking-news-valentino-names-alessandro-michele-new-creative-director,1619594.html) |

## Which models have walked for Valentino?

None are on The Cast Index ledger yet. We only record a walk when a published source names the model, the house and the show, and no Valentino walk has been verified to that standard so far.

## Common questions

### Who is the creative director of Valentino?

Alessandro Michele is Valentino’s creative director, a role announced in March 2024. Before: Pierpaolo Piccioli (2016–2024). Checked 22 October 2026.

### Who was the creative director of Valentino before Alessandro Michele?

Alessandro Michele succeeded Pierpaolo Piccioli (sole creative director, 2016–2024). The full timeline is on this page, with a source for each term.

### Who have been Valentino’s creative directors?

In order: Valentino Garavani (founder, 1960–2008), Alessandra Facchinetti (2007–2008), Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pierpaolo Piccioli (2008–2016), Pierpaolo Piccioli (2016–2024), Alessandro Michele (2024–present). Each entry in the timeline on this page links its source.

### Which models have walked for Valentino?

None are on The Cast Index ledger yet. We only record a walk when a published source names the model, the house and the show, and no Valentino walk has been verified to that standard so far.

## Sources

- [WWD — Valentino Spring 2027 review (4 October 2026)](https://wwd.com/runway/spring-2027/paris/valentino/review/)
- [FashionUnited — Fashion week SS27: a brief moment of stability (21 October 2026)](https://fashionunited.uk/news/fashion/fashion-week-ss27-a-brief-moment-of-stability/2026102190967)
- [FashionNetwork — Valentino Garavani dies aged 93 (19 January 2026)](https://us.fashionnetwork.com/news/Valentino-garavani-dies-aged-93,1799052.html)
- [WWD — Facchinetti to replace Valentino (5 September 2007)](https://wwd.com/fashion-news/fashion-features/facchinetti-to-replace-valentino-1031281/)
- [WWD — Valentino confirms Maria Grazia Chiuri’s exit, appoints Pierpaolo Piccioli creative director (7 July 2016)](https://wwd.com/fashion-news/designer-luxury/maria-grazia-chiuri-leaving-valentino-pierpaolo-piccioli-sole-creative-director-10483128/)
- [FashionNetwork — Valentino names Alessandro Michele new creative director (28 March 2024)](https://us.fashionnetwork.com/news/Breaking-news-valentino-names-alessandro-michele-new-creative-director,1619594.html)

Each ledger walk links its own published source. Walks are recorded only when a source names the model, the house and the show; the ledger is incomplete by design.

Cite as: The Cast Index, "Valentino", https://thecastindex.com/houses/valentino.