Valentino Launches A New Sustainable Fashion Initiative, “Valentino Sleeping Stock”

In the heart of Paris, among the narrow streets of the Sentier district is the Tissu Market fabric store. Not too far away, on the Rue Saint-Honoré, stands the Valentino boutique with its colourful windows – which are now switched off after 10pm in accordance with the brand’s sustainability initiatives. Since September 2021, the maison and the specialist fabric store have been working together in search of more responsible ways of operating. Now, they’re unveiling their newest collaboration, titled Valentino Sleeping Stock.

The initiative promotes a creative and responsible use of leftover fabrics from Valentino’s haute couture and ready-to-wear collections together with the Parisian fabric reseller. “At the origin of this initiative there is a profound personal and shared conviction: the importance of upcycling as an engine of change that we intend to establish in the fashion sector,” says Tissu Market founder Franck Lellouche. “The pursuit of excellence, inclusiveness and engagement through the creative process are some of the core values we share and will guide the next steps of this unique partnership.”

Chiffon, taffeta, dévoré satins, floral print crêpe de chine, silk georgette, and guipure lace – a trove of dreamy materials and examples of fine craftsmanship are kept in the Valentino archives, otherwise destined to never be used again. Now, they are able to gain a second life via costume designers from the worlds of opera, theatre, cinema, as well as other fashion designers; in the process, avoiding the CO2 emissions that would have been generated from the production of new fabrics. It’s a historic step for Valentino, the first couture house that has made its deadstock accessible to the public in a transparent way, providing a new springboard for creativity.

Proceeds from the sales of fabrics at Tissu Market will be donated to the Bottega dell’Arte di Valentino, the training programme for the atelier that aims to pass down the label’s savoir-faire to future generations. Valentino Sleeping Stock is another piece in the puzzle, with the goal to build, together, a future that is increasingly aware of the need to protect our planet and that creatively involves the brand’s community.