Valentino S/S 2020 Paris Fashion Week Men’s

Mood board: The concept of travel and the meandering man are never far from the S/S season – menswear often looks to explore, subvert or explain notions of journeying. A man is always on the move, scaling mountains or running against the wind. It might have much to do with the activewear moment which has dogged fashion for a couple of years now; we are looking for newness in a samey world. At Valentino, Pierpaolo Piccioli often draws on faraway lands for inspiration and, for S/S 2020, the line of the Arabic djellaba robe and the moroccan caftan was key. They evoked a free spirit, with a touch of the handmade. Crochet and embroidery met with suiting, giving conservative clothes a couture consideration.
Team work: Imagined landscapes by English artist Roger Dean were applied liberally through the collection. Dean is known for the otherworldly scenes he created for posters and prog rock album covers in the late 1970s. Eight of his canvases were on show in January this year as part of the 24th L.A. Art Show. Collaboration with artists has become a standard of the luxury fashion market – and, for S/S20, Valentino’s elegance and modern masculinity was reframed by the dramatic, graphic pop of Dean’s sci-fi vision. Three of his works, ‘Yellow City’, ‘Dragon Garden’ and ‘Blind Owl’ were used on shirting and embroidered onto outerwear. Dean’s planets rippled on the surface of a roomy cagoule.
Best in show: Flowing outwear covered smart, lean suits. Floaty silk shirts, cotton blouses, a boxy cavalry coat in tan had mint green inserts. The look was gestural. Super-roomy coats kept their shape. Fringes were applied to the front of classic light denim jackets. Standout was a split leather trench in cornflower blue. Dean’s work was embroidered onto a zip-up jacket, an impossible yet welcoming landscape. The billowing trench and longer length shirts eased into a summer of the senses.
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
London based writer Dal Chodha is editor-in-chief of Archivist Addendum — a publishing project that explores the gap between fashion editorial and academe. He writes for various international titles and journals on fashion, art and culture and is a contributing editor at Wallpaper*. Chodha has been working in academic institutions for more than a decade and is Stage 1 Leader of the BA Fashion Communication and Promotion course at Central Saint Martins. In 2020 he published his first book SHOW NOTES, an original hybrid of journalism, poetry and provocation.
-
Mercedes streamlines the CLA Shooting Brake to create an aerodynamic electric load lugger
The new CLA Shooting Brake is the first ever electric estate car from Mercedes-Benz, a tour-de-force of quiet technology and elegant lines
-
Willy Chavarria: ‘We’re still so stuck in fashion‘s old guard’
As part of the August 2025 ‘Made in America’ issue of Wallpaper*, we invited three creative powerhouses to comment on the state of the States. Here, award-winning American fashion designer Willy Chavarria speaks on creative resilience, uniting with activist groups, and shaking up fashion’s old guard
-
Six Indian artists reframe the ladies compartment of a Mumbai local train
An exhibition by Method (India) at Galerie Melike Bilir in Hamburg explores a gendered space
-
Glenn Martens’ thrilling Maison Margiela debut was a balancing act between past, present and future
The Belgian designer made his debut for the house last night with a collection that looked towards medieval decoration for a new expression of opulence
-
Art meets perfume in cross-disciplinary fragrance series Nez 1+1
Talents from film and fragrance come together to create Ansongo, the latest scent resulting from a creative matchmaking project by perfume revue Nez
-
Haute Couture Week A/W 2025: what to expect
Five moments to look out for at Haute Couture Week A/W 2025 in Paris (starting Monday 7 July), from Glenn Martens’ debut for Maison Margiela to Demna’s Balenciaga swansong. Plus, ‘new beginnings’ from JW Anderson
-
The collections you might have missed this S/S 2026 menswear season
Between the headliners in Paris, Milan and Florence, a few off-schedule displays are deserving of honourable mention – from Martine Rose’s sexually-charged portrait of Kensington Market to Sander Lak’s appointment-only namesake debut
-
‘They gave me carte blanche to do what I want’: Paul Kooiker photographs the students of Gerrit Rietveld Academie for Acne Studios
Heralding the launch of a new permanent gallery from fashion label Acne Studios, the celebrated Dutch photographer’s new body of work praises the bravery of ‘people who choose to go to an art school at a time like this’
-
‘I’m surprised that I got this far’: Rick Owens on his bombastic Paris retrospective, ‘Temple of Love’
The Dark Prince of Fashion sits down with Wallpaper* to discuss legacy, love, and growing old in Paris as a display at the Palais Galliera tells the story of his subversive career
-
The standout shows of Paris Fashion Week Men’s S/S 2026: Hermès to Craig Green
Wallpaper* picks the very best of Paris Fashion Week Men’s S/S 2026, from Véronique Nichanian’s portrait of summer in the city for Hermès to Craig Green’s return to the Paris runway
-
Paris Fashion Week Men’s S/S 2026: live updates from the Wallpaper* team
From 24-29 June, Paris Fashion Week Men’s arrives in the French capital. Follow along for a first look at the shows, presentations and other fashion happenings, as seen by the Wallpaper* editors