Maison Valentino delves again into the literary world with the second chapter of its forward-thinking text-only campaign, Valentino The Narratives.
Valentino’s Creative Director Pierpaolo Piccioli brought together 17 writers and poets, to tell short stories about love: Alok Vaid-Menon, Amia Srinivasan, André Aciman, Andrew Sean Greer, Brit Bennett, David Sedaris, Douglas Coupland, Elizabeth Acevedo, Emily Ratajkowski, Fatima Farheen Mirza, Hanif Kureishi, Leïla Slimani, Melissa Broder, Michael Cunningham, Mieko Kawakami, Murathan Mungan and Serang Chung. Some of their words come to life through graphic and colorful individual layouts, creating a polyphonic conversation. A unique way of communicating in the fashion world.
Valentino has chosen to take over the windows of 14 independent bookshops worldwide, to spotlight the different works. The Maison renews its collaboration with Belletrist bookclub, founded in 2017 by Emma Roberts and Karah Preiss.
Among the authors invited is Leila Slimani. For us, the 2016 Goncourt Prize winner reflected upon love and the campaign:
What do we love in love?
We love many things. The self-abandonment as much as the image that the other person sends back to us. The gift of oneself as much as the pleasure of receiving. It is a feeling of an extraordinary complexity.
It is often said that the most beautiful texts are born from the most painful loves. Do you agree?
No, I'm not sure. One can also write about loves that have not caused suffering, and fortunately so! Look at the great texts that writers have devoted to maternal love. They are among the most beautiful in literature.
What do you think of Valentino’s choice to focus its campaign solely on words?
I find it both very original and very right. We live in a society obsessed with images, where words and poetry are perhaps less important than they used to be. I think it's very beautiful and subversive that a big house like Valentino chooses words rather than images to arouse emotion, reflection and also to maintain the mystery.
Read the full text Leila Slimani wrote for Valentino here
