It’s no secret that Alessandro Michele is a big fan of brunettes with a fringe. Earlier this year, Yellowjackets actress Sophie Thatcher starred in his PF25 Valentino campaign film, Dakota Johnson was one of his main muses at Gucci, and today, Clairo becomes the latest fringed face to star in one of his campaigns.
After attending the Valentino AW25 fashion show earlier this spring (where she spoke to Dazed, confessing her profound love of grapes), the Atlanta-born singer was named brand ambassador and wore Valentino for her debut Met Gala appearance, donning a dramatic tiered skirt, grey tweed jacket and one of the brand’s cat clutches too.
For the third chapter in the duo’s quickly blossoming relationship, Clairo stars in Valentino’s new Le Méta-Théâtre Des Intimités campaign, alongside Kembra Pfahler, Aimée Byrne, Isabella Pascucci, Shane Stevens, Hana Janata, Sanique Dill, Weiyi Fang, Bukwop Kir, Paul Scally and Giuseppe Cirillo.
Lensed by longtime Michele collaborator Glen Luchford, the campaign recreates the scene from the designer’s AW25 show, hosted inside a Lynchian, Valentino-red public bathroom. “It’s a liminal space that, in this campaign, becomes enriched with new bodies, gazes and encounters, becoming an unfailing scene of possibilities,” reads the release, penned by Michele himself.
“It was like imagining a life after the show: how many other existences could that uncanny and choral space host? How many other unspoken desires could take shape there? And which different intimacies would be reflected in its corridors?” Michele asks.
Following the release of her third album, Charm, last year (which came 4th on Dazed’s list of best albums of 2024), Clairo’s style evolution has gone from nonchalant girl next door, to fashion It girl – stepping out in Miss Claire Sullivan, when she’s not draped in Valentino.
See all the best AW25 campaigns here.