For Lunar New Year 2026, Valentino goes beyond symbolism. Through Alessandro Michele’s vision, Chinese cultural figures, and a landmark Shanghai setting, the house explores how global luxury can engage China with nuance, respect, and contemporary relevance.
Chinese actress Lareina Song, who is currently a Valentino brand ambassador, stars in the campaign alongside model Yi Fan. Both wear pieces from the Valentino Cruise 2026 collection, designed by Michele following his appointment to the storied Italian fashion house. Valentino’s selection of Song as the face of the campaign signals the brand’s recognition that luxury now requires authentic cultural ambassadors who carry weight within their home markets, not merely famous faces who look good in expensive clothes.
This represents a calculated shift in how European luxury brands approach the Chinese market. Rather than imposing Western aesthetics on Eastern celebrations, the campaign attempts a more nuanced approach. The creative team centered the campaign around a zoetrope, an optical device that creates the illusion of motion through sequential images. The running horse depicted in this 19th-century animation device, according to the house, becomes a metaphor for infinite possibilities and new beginnings.
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Beyond the campaign imagery, Valentino will host “Illuminate Your Dream,” a Lantern Festival at Shanghai’s Tianhou Palace. Built in 1884 along the Suzhou River in the Jing’an District, the temple provides historical gravitas to what could otherwise feel like a mere corporate spectacle. Xu Zhu-Nowell, the executive director and chief curator of Shanghai’s Rockbund Art Museum, organized an exhibition featuring contemporary light installations by Chinese artists.
The public can attend on January 17 and 18, following an opening ceremony on January 16. Traditional craft stalls and food vendors will accompany the art installations, creating an immersive experience that connects Chinese heritage with contemporary interpretation, according to the organizers.
Zhu-Nowell brings serious credentials to the project. Currently based in Shanghai and New York, she challenges consistency in her curatorial approach in favor of research shaped by contradiction, displacement, and what she terms “mistranslation.” Her involvement suggests that Valentino seeks more than a superficial engagement with Chinese culture.
Michele took the reins at Valentino after years of reshaping Gucci into a maximalist empire. His vision for Valentino has proven to be less eccentric and more refined than his previous work. The Cruise 2026 collection featured in this campaign represents his ongoing effort to redefine contemporary luxury for a house founded by Valentino Garavani and Giancarlo Giammetti in 1960.
The campaign unfolds in intimate settings where subtle details carry symbolic weight. The meeting between Song and Yi Fan progresses through what the creative direction describes as natural warmth. However, achieving authentic spontaneity in a fashion campaign remains challenging.
Fashion houses have long struggled with how to honor cultural celebrations without appropriating them. The line between respectful acknowledgment and commercial exploitation is thin. Valentino’s approach attempts to thread that needle by employing Chinese talent in front of and behind the camera and by situating a significant event at an actual Chinese historical site rather than a fabricated set.
Luxury brands cannot ignore the fact that Chinese consumers generate substantial revenue. The Lunar New Year period is a peak spending season when gift-giving traditions, cultural pride, and disposable income intersect. Now, every major European fashion house launches special collections, limited editions, or campaigns timed to these celebrations.
Creative director: Alessandro Michele
Photographer: Julie Greve
Director: Marcus Tang
Talent: Lareina Song
Model: Yifan Lv