​Valentino has launched its latest campaign (Fall 2025) and like many that come from the creative mind of Alessandro Michele, it comes with a full ‘manifesto’ attached.

It’s called the Poetics of Everyday and despite Michele being one of fashion’s most famous maximalists, might almost be a drive to get back to basics.

“We live in an era of violent uproar, of shouting images, of words chasing after other words without ever taking root. Such overblown turmoil oversaturates our gaze, producing a solid crisis of perception,” Valentino said.

“From this, comes the need for a policy of attention, an ethics for the gaze and the presence, capable of lingering upon the infinitely small, on seemingly insignificant gestures, on those everyday routines that connect us with the pattern of life”.

What we actually see are multiple images within a portrait or landscape format. Although it’s an autumn campaign, given its timing, it shows one key everyday summer activity — eating an ice cream outside an ice cream parlour. It features models including Amelia Gray, Kai Schreiber, Lorenzo Zurzolo, Scarlett White and Sophie Thatcher.

Valentino/Michele added: “Re-enchanting the everyday, trying to inhabit it poetically is not an easy task. An anomaly is needed, a disruption in the frantic rush to do. We need to slow down and stop. That’s why I imagined a static point of view that may scan the poetical density of what nestles in the ordinary. A fixed camera focused on life, as it happens. A door opens, a street, a bar. And then: ancient and minute gestures within mornings that seem to be all alike.

“What I’m proposing is to overcome the anesthetization of the gaze, dwelling in the silent twist and turns of the days, welcoming the magic of the existing with kindness, choosing to stay in touch with what is alive. The everyday is not a backdrop that animates only when the extraordinary steps in. Rather, it’s the secret architecture that supports our presence in the world: a frame of glows and joyful epiphanies enshrined in the little or nothing of our ordinariness.”

Harvey Nichols has unveiled its summer campaign and referencing its earlier iteration this spring that used eye-catching illustrations to create a virtual catwalk, it’s retained the idea of stepping forward with the new campaign entitled Staying In Step.

“Building on the creative stride established earlier this year”, the campaign aims to bring the brand’s distinctive SS25 illustrations to life in “vibrant real-world scenes that celebrate movement, expression and relevance”. 

It was shot on the streets of London and “captures the city’s energy and distinctive atmosphere”.

The focus, of course, is the season’s standout pieces across womenswear, menswear, accessories and beauty, “presented through high-impact edits that reflect Harvey Nichols’ unmistakable point of view”.

The retailer’s creative director Kate Phelan said that “summer 25 is all about setting the pace – capturing the energy of the season through bold style, creativity, and a strong sense of individuality. With our edit, we’re not just showcasing the best of the season’s fashion – we’re creating a mood, a moment and a point of view that feels right for now.”

The campaign will be seen via out-of-home placements across key London locations – from Notting Hill to Shoreditch – to “ensure visibility in the heart of the city, while a digital rollout spans multiple platforms to connect with fashion-forward audiences wherever they are”.

Digital screens in Harvey Nichols’ windows will “further amplify the experience, bringing the energy of summer to the in-store customer through vibrant animated visuals”, as happened with the spring campaign illustrations.

British brand Fairfax & Favor is continuing its focus on US expansion, despite the current tariff situation that could impact trade between the UK and US for the foreseeable future.

The company has seen a strong period or “organic” growth in America, co-founder Marcus Fairfax Fountaine told The Times. He added that “the opportunity to expand there massively outweighs the challenges”.

The decade-old “rural vogue” label began life as a niche equestrian-inspired footwear brand, but now also includes a full line-up of outerwear for woman and men, plus bags and other accessories.

The company is targeting a major jump in US revenue to 20% of its total sales within three years, up from 10% at present and 3% just two years ago. But the UK remains its core market — apart from those US sales, its sales from the rest of the world currently make up only around 1% of its total.

The firm’s accounts for the year to March 2024, filed at Companies House, show turnover of £36 million, up by only £1 million year on year but having seen 50% US growth. Pre-tax profits dipped from £4 million to £2.5 million as a result of store opening and warehouse investment. It has nine stores in market towns across the UK, as well as one in the US.

Fairfax Fountaine told the newspaper that American shoppers are drawn to the “Britishness” of the brand “and the fact Zara Tindall is a customer. She’s the kind of person our customers tend to like”. Tindall, a British equestrian Olympian, is the daughter of Princess Anne and became an ambassador for the label last month.

Like other niche rural brands, the company has focused on reaching customers via outdoor events and the co-founder told The Times that it will double its presence at such events across the US (including the Kentucky horse trials). And it’s looking at opening more stores there following its debut location at the Tryon International Equestrian Centre in North Carolina that opened its doors in 2023.

Fairfax & Favor may sound like the kind of name anyone searching for a British-country-heritage-meets-the-US type of moniker might come up with. But in fact, it simply reflects the founders’ names. It’s clearly part of Fairfax Fountaine’s name and he founded the brand with his childhood friend Felix Favor Parker in 2013.

Manufactured in the UK, Portugal and Spain, it has become a regular feature at events such as the Cheltenham Festival and is also a celebrity favourite.