The Valentino Cruise 2026 (Resort 2026) campaign presents an evocative journey set within the discreet walls of a hotel, where the transition between wakefulness and sleep is depicted as a meaningful threshold.
Under Alessandro Michele‘s creative direction, the collection centers on Johnson, who leads a cast gathered from various artistic worlds. The choice of a hotel as the campaign’s setting reflects Michele’s vision for this season: proximity exists alongside privacy, anonymity is coupled with belonging, and temporary moments seem to linger.
Photographed by Marili Andre, the images emerge in lush interiors filled with soft light. In her first campaign as Valentino’s global ambassador, Johnson shares the space with living legends and contemporary voices, including Marisa Berenson, Tate McRae, Dev Hynes, Anne Imhof, and Devon Teuscher.
The result is a sense of diverse presences, each portrayed in their own small rituals before sleep: resting on a bed, lounging on a sofa, or spending a quiet moment on the floor. The setting feels suspended, emphasizing the liminality; the campaign is titled “Nocturne.”
Rarely does a fashion collection connect so deliberately with a fleeting moment of the day. Alessandro Michele’s focus on the “moment just before night comes” is notable. He captures the scene where consciousness softens, words matter less, and light loses its authority. For Michele, this brief time is not merely a visual backdrop for clothing. Rather, it is a time when everything yields gently, when the usual rules of movement and social expectation give way to calm.
Follow all the latest news from Fashionotography on Flipboard, or receive it directly in your inbox with Feeder.
You might also read
The campaign images depict rooms as fragments of lived experience. Each cast member is isolated yet linked by the shared gesture of quietly surrendering to sleep. In Michele’s conception, the hotel represents a modern condition marked by parallel existences: a place where solitudes coexist and a sense of connectedness grows unexpectedly. Even small gestures repeated at the edge of slumber become collective acts of intimacy.
The video campaign, directed by Renell Medrano, further explores these themes. Cast members can be seen meandering through hallways, stepping into private spaces, or engaging in tranquil pursuits, such as reading or playing cards. The reverberation of Chopin’s “Nocturne in E-flat” heightens the atmospheric sense of anticipation and gentle bond uniting those who briefly inhabit separate yet neighboring universes.
Central to the Valentino Cruise 2026 campaign is Dakota Johnson’s new role as a brand ambassador. Her relationship with Alessandro Michele dates back to his Gucci days, and her natural ease in these images speaks to the authenticity of their collaboration. Johnson joins a growing echelon of Valentino ambassadors, lending her screen presence and understated glamour to the house during a pivotal transitional period.
The campaign’s visual language departs from spectacle, instead favoring the quiet glow of lived reality. Rooms are depicted as personal universes, and the images focus on small, genuine gestures: the gentle closing of a dress, a phone conversation, and a solitary figure preparing for sleep.
Through Michele’s curation, the mood is both immersive and accessible. Luxury is presented not as fantasy but as an experience rooted in time and space.
Subtle casting choices support this intention. Marisa Berenson brings the weight and knowledge of a storied career. Contemporary voices are provided by artists such as Anne Imhof and musicians like Dev Hynes, while dancers bring a sense of craft and precision. Each presence is distinctive yet none overshadows the collective effect.
