Dakota Johnson is the new face of Alessandro Michele’s Valentino.
The actress, who is already a brand ambassador, features prominently in the Italian design house’s latest campaign. The ad features clothing and accessories from Michele’s Cruise 2026 collection, which she debuted as creative director in June.
In the image shared by Valentino on Instagram, Johnson is seen lying on the ground wearing a red silk chiffon minidress with a cutout on the torso and ruffled off-the-shoulder straps, holding a gold cell phone in her hand.
The scene depicts a 36-year-old woman returning home from a night out to find her accessories scattered and too tired to go to bed. In the photo, the bag is tossed next to her cascading brown hair, flanked by kicked-out aqua heels and thick ankle straps.
Who is she calling on her landline? Maybe it’s someone looking to rent this season’s It dress, or one of Valentino’s fellow campaign stars.
In true Michele art form, the still image is accompanied by a video starring Johnson, Marisa Berenson, Dev Hynes, Ann Imhoff, Tate McRae and Devon Teuscher, which was also shared on social media.
The group moves from hotel room to room as Chopin’s “Nocturne in E flat major” plays in the background. The caption reads, “In every room, there’s a piece of the universe.”
When the collection was first presented, models were photographed from above, spread out on satin bedspreads below. Each model’s story is supported by accessories such as a rotary phone, a box of movie theater popcorn, a hair dryer, and even a rock’n’roll guitar.
If Johnson’s Lady in Red look seems familiar, that’s because we’ve already seen it on at least two other style stars this season.
In early October, actress Meghan Fahey sat front row at Valentino’s Spring 2026 runway show in Paris wearing an identical red dress. Later, Miley Cyrus wore it during a photo shoot for the November issue of French Vogue.
What’s even more surprising is that this season’s featured dresses are still available for purchase.
Yes, you can get a dress for yourself too…if you have a big event coming up and you have $9,900 to spend.
