How L’Atelier Sonore Quietly Repositions Valentino’s Cultural Voice
By Mackenzie Richard Zuckerman
In a fashion landscape driven by urgency, Maison Valentino is choosing something more radical: stillness. Opening May 15th, L’Atelier Sonore transforms the mezzanine of Valentino’s Madison Avenue boutique into a site of sonic immersion and quiet contemplation. Developed in collaboration with Italian cultural collective Terraforma, the space invites visitors not to look—but to listen.
At once architectural, emotional, and acoustic, L’Atelier Sonore reflects Creative Director Alessandro Michele’s evolving vision for the Maison: poetic, introspective, and unafraid to step outside the commercial current. Where others pursue volume, Valentino is creating resonance.
The Concept: A Salon for Stillness
Curated by Terraforma and realized with sound designer Giorgio Di Salvo and artisan Francesco Lupia, the room is a fusion of Renaissance cabinetmaking, hi-fi sound engineering, and the Parisian salons of Gertrude Stein. It’s more than an installation—it’s a mood space, inspired in part by Claude Debussy’s Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune—a favorite of Michele’s and a guiding metaphor for the sound design.
“We weren’t just building a sound system,” explains Terraforma founder Ruggero Pietromarchi. “We were translating Alessandro’s vision—this idea of punk elegance, sober psychedelia—into a sonic identity. We wanted the space to feel real, not branded. Less performance, more presence.”
The process behind the sound system, Pietromarchi adds, came from a long-standing exchange with Di Salvo. “We recently developed a sound system for the iconic Torre Branca by Gio Ponti in Milan. There, we were inspired by the rigid, beautiful architecture. The same happened for L’Atelier Sonore—with Lupia contributing his mastery in wood veneer techniques to recall antique Renaissance furniture.”
“The idea,” he notes, “was to craft a sound system for a contemporary living room—something inspired by the old Parisian salons but grounded in tactile materiality and modern design.”
Opening Night: Listening as Ritual
To mark the opening, L’Atelier Sonore will host a 10-hour live listening program—a vinyl-only lineup featuring artists from across New York and beyond. Beginning at 2:00 PM, each performer will share a 45-minute set drawn from their personal archives, inviting audiences to engage not only with the music but with the memories, emotions, and silences in between.
The lineup includes names that have long shaped underground and experimental sound culture: Laraaji, Lea Bertucci, Laurel Halo, Lizzi Bougatsos, Chuquimamani-Condori, Kevin Beasley, Veronica Vasicka, and Physical Therapy. It’s not about performance—it’s about presence.
“This is a space for intimate listening,” says Pietromarchi. “It’s about creating a meditative moment in a place where you’d least expect it—inside a luxury fashion boutique.”
Sound as Brand Language
For Valentino, L’Atelier Sonore signals more than an aesthetic experiment—it’s a strategic reimagining of how a fashion house can hold space for culture. Alessandro Michele’s appointment in 2024 has reoriented the Maison’s focus toward narrative richness and multidimensional expression. This installation reflects that ethos, translating Michele’s maximalist poetics into something slower, quieter, and more architectural.
Terraforma’s role was not to amplify a brand message, but to translate creative vision into sonic identity.
“We weren’t designing mood music,” Pietromarchi says. “We were building an emotional vocabulary that aligns with Valentino’s energy right now—one that’s not afraid to be intimate, strange, or reflective.”
“The room is everything,” he adds. “When you develop a sound space, it’s not just about the system. The acoustics, the woodwork, the shape—it all contributes to the way sound lives in the space. That’s what creates connection.”
This is not content—it’s a commitment:
- To attention over distraction
- To emotion over noise
- To crafting spaces that people don’t scroll past, but step inside
The Experience Beyond Opening Night
After May 15, L’Atelier Sonore will remain open daily through the end of August. Visitors will be able to browse and play a curated selection of records, or attend occasional listening sessions hosted by Valentino’s extended creative circle. There’s no purchase necessary. No velvet rope. Just sound, space, and the luxury of attention.
“This project is uncompromising,” Pietromarchi says. “It’s not an activation—it’s a real space with real cultural value. No logos, no sponsorship energy. That’s why it works.”
For an industry that often equates visibility with value, L’Atelier Sonore offers a counterproposal: maybe the future of fashion is also about what we choose to hear.
What This Means for Valentino
Under Alessandro Michele, Valentino is becoming more than a fashion house. It’s evolving into a place of feeling, where beauty is not just seen, but sensed. L’Atelier Sonore signals a brand moving past visual storytelling toward something deeper—a house of intimacy, memory, and mood.
In a luxury industry that often confuses noise for relevance, L’Atelier Sonore offers a bold counterpoint:
Luxury, redefined through listening.
Key Takeaways
1. Valentino is repositioning luxury as a feeling, not a product.
L’Atelier Sonore reinforces Valentino’s evolution into an experience-first brand, with values embedded in emotion, reflection, and aesthetic presence. The space invites visitors to feel the brand, not just see or wear it.
2. Michele’s maximalist style is evolving into sensory minimalism.
Alessandro Michele is translating his richly referential creative language into an atmosphere of stillness and listening. It signals a move from surface ornamentation to deeper interiority—a shift in both tone and intention.
3. The project is a cultural statement, not a commercial one.
By collaborating with Terraforma and real underground artists, Valentino avoids spectacle in favor of authenticity. The space is unbranded, intimate, and uncompromising—a rare gesture in a commercial retail environment.
4. Valentino is embedding itself in contemporary culture beyond fashion.
This project positions the house alongside tastemakers in music, architecture, and sound design. It demonstrates cultural fluency, aligning the brand with a new generation of creatives and thinkers.
5. L’Atelier Sonore reflects Valentino’s heritage through a modern lens.
Handcrafted woodwork, Renaissance references, and poetic ambiance offer a subtle reimagining of the house’s DNA. It’s emotionally resonant and deeply respectful of the brand’s design lineage.
6. The experience targets a culturally fluent, aesthetically attuned audience.
This isn’t a mainstream activation. It’s designed for a discerning community that values slowness, nuance, and emotional connection—collectors, creatives, and cultural leaders.
7. The format offers a model for long-term brand storytelling.
Unlike time-bound marketing stunts, L’Atelier Sonore is built for longevity. It’s a space people return to, reflect in, and remember—an enduring expression of brand depth.