For Fall/Winter 2026, Valentino continues its “Interferenze” campaign with a new chapter dedicated to eyewear, photographed at a location that perfectly encapsulates the brand’s aesthetic vision: the Centrale Montemartini in Rome.
This former power plant, now converted into a museum—where ancient sculptures stand alongside imposing industrial machinery—serves as the backdrop for a campaign built entirely on the contrast between classical statuary and 20th-century architecture. Under the creative direction of Alessandro Michele, the collection features five models—ranging from sunglasses to optical frames—with bold silhouettes: oversized frames, cat-eye lines, and geometric frames come together in a collection where the Valentino VLogo appears as a detail that is both structural and decorative.
The team assembled for this campaign—with artistic direction by Ezra Petronio and Lana Petrusevych, photography by Glen Luchford, and styling by Suzanne Koller—reinforces the editorial approach the brand aims to bring to its accessories. Far from simply showcasing products, the campaign reads like a photographic work in its own right, where clothing and accessories blend into a single visual language—that of a Rome that is both ancient and industrial.
This choice of setting is no accident. By juxtaposing the remnants of a civilization with the raw aesthetic of a power plant, Valentino positions its eyewear within a dual temporal framework: that of a proudly embraced heritage and a boldly asserted modernity. This approach continues an editorial direction initiated by Alessandro Michele since he took over as the house’s creative director, in which every product category—including the most functional accessories—becomes the canvas for a rich visual narrative.
The choice of a museum rather than a studio or a natural setting also reflects a shift in fashion houses’ relationship with Rome’s heritage sites, which were long reserved for institutional or advertising shoots. The Centrale Montemartini, open to the public since the late 1990s, occupies a special place in this landscape: neither a Renaissance palace nor a classical ancient ruin, it embodies a more recent and industrial layer of Roman history, which few luxury brands had previously chosen to showcase with such visual emphasis.
By choosing a setting as rich in meaning as the Centrale Montemartini, Valentino reminds us that eyewear—long considered a secondary market—can also embody the artistic vision of an entire fashion house.
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