As social, economic and political strife rage on, where is the light at the end of the tunnel? In the gloom of the modern world, where does fashion find its place? According to Alessandro Michele, the answer to these questions can be found in the work of Pier Paolo Pasolini. At yesterday’s Valentino show, the designer took us back to 1941, inspired by the letters penned by the Italian poet under the rule of fascism throughout the decade. “The night I told you about, we saw an immense amount of fireflies, they made little woods of fire inside little woods of bushes and we envied them because they loved each other, because they longed for each other through amorous flights and lights,” reads the letter. Pasolini’s depiction of fireflies lies at the centre of Michele’s SS26 Valentino offering, finding the light through cracks in the darkness, discovering joy, pleasure and beauty in the toughest of times.

Guests returned to the Institut du Monde Arabe, transformed last season into the infamous red bathrooms, now reimagined as a pitch-black space with tiered seating. Despite its darkness, the flurry of camera flashes alerted attendees when Michele’s front row stars arrived – including Lana Del Rey and husband Jeremy Dufrene, Colman Domingo, Pamela Anderson, Clairo, Sophie Thatcher and Joseph Quinn. As the show began, a voiceover by Pamela Anderson introduced the work of Pasolini, alongside the decades-later contrasting views of art historian Georges Didi-Huberman, contextualising the collection as it hit the runway. Propeller-like strobe lighting darted across the ceiling, and a meditative techno beat pulsed as the first of 80 looks appeared from behind the curtain.

The collection itself was aptly titled Fireflies, rich in the maximalism and opulence for which Michele has become best known. There was a distinct shift from the ruffles and pussybows which defined the designer’s debut show for the house, instead focusing on refined, slim tailoring for men, offering a selection of billowing silk shirts, pinstripe suit trousers, metallic blazers or sequin-encrusted bomber jackets. Womenswear continued those same principles, with stain colour-block suiting, slim fit trousers paired with heavily embellished blazers and tiered skirts worn with silk blouses. Gowns dripped in diamonds, feathers and sequins, complete with trompe l’oeil firefly-shaped jewels, while some arrived entirely sheer, adorned only with delicate lace or intricate embroidery.

“We need to disarm the eyes and reawaken the gaze,” said Michele. “It’s the only way to understand how the gloom of our present is actually woven with light swarms of fireflies… These are fleeting sparks in the dark, constellations of fireflies that unveil gateways of possibilities and nourish imagination with political force.” As the show came to a close, models descended upon the runway en masse, stopping to stare at the sky above in search of fireflies – a signal of light in the dark.