Valentino expands vintage concept with new locations and educational partnership

Luxury label Valentino has announced the evolution of its Valentino Vintage concept, expanding the secondhand initiative on a global scale and bringing it into the educational sector.

Initially launched in 2021 as a way to provide select vintage stores with preloved Valentino garments, the concept has now grown from four stores to seven, in cities including New York, Seoul, Tokyo, Paris and Los Angeles.

Each of the involved stores will house a Valentino Vintage display that will enable shoppers to take part in the brand’s vintage exchange programme.

The initiative allows buyers to exchange preloved Valentino garments with a new design, with the maximum number of garments to be exchanged now lifted from one to three.

Alongside this, Valentino has also struck up a creative partnership with London-based education and incubator platform 1 Granary, through which the student community and several fashion, design and art schools in each city the retail concept is situated in have joined the vintage initiative.

Through the collaboration, Valentino has donated a curated collection of five vintage looks to each of the participating schools in order to pass on knowledge surrounding craftsmanship and artisanal techniques.

The duo hopes the partnership will inspire international students and young talent to explore the preservation and transmission of Valentino’s heritage in order to “safeguard the creative powerhouses of the future”, as noted in a press release.

The seven schools associated with the programme include IED in Milan, Institut Français de la Mode in Paris, Central Saint Martins in London, Otis College of Art and Design in Los Angeles, Coconogacco in Tokyo, ESMOD in Seoul and Parsons School of Design in New York.