Valente is a clothing brand putting a new spin on gender-neutral clothing. Founded by Angelica Valente, the brand focuses on quality and equality. The brand describes its designs as being “rooted in Italian culture, inspired by the future, and elevated through spirit.” The goal of the brand is in its name. “Valente,” which translates to “valiant,” means to be brave, courageous, bold, and fearless. Valente’s motto is “noi siamo il futuro,” which means “we are the future.”

What made you want to launch Valente? What do you want it to represent?
I had the idea of “Valente” brewing since I was little. I would design dance costumes for myself constantly and always looked for new styles around. I was inspired by my mom’s fashion and our entire family. My Nonno always taught us to feel royal and to find our own strength within in order to step into our truth. It was in my first year of college after just moving to Los Angeles from Canada when I was overseeing the same wardrobe/brands around. I wanted to create something moveable, performative, and unique. Blend luxury and streetwear, while also remixing Italian culture into a futuristic aesthetic. A force took over me and I decided to stop waiting for the perfect moment and just release it to the world because life is way too short to sit on our creations. Valente represents individuality, luxury, movement, and connectivity to our souls and each other. I want Valente to be an entity everyone feels welcomed into. An inspiration for us all to express our spirits to elevate the world.

Who or what inspires you when you’re designing?
Everything: music, paintings, lighting, architecture, movement, photographs, nature, etc. Although I would say I feel the most creative with music. A song or type of music is usually what sparks the overall theme of a collection. That is the reason we started our Valente Spotify. Music/meditations are completely integrated with Valente, I wanted people to feel what birthed each collection from listening to the playlists and feeling the energy behind it.

How would you describe your two collections: ERA I and ERA II?
ERA I is sleek, icy, futuristic, yet timeless. I wanted to create staple pieces that people can feel luxurious in yet wear and pair on multiple occasions. ERA 2 is more bold, romantic, and sexy. I wanted to create more stand-out pieces, and a mix of elements that connect people to their feminine and masculine energies.

Why was it important for the brand to be gender-neutral?
To me it’s common sense: it’s simply fabric. I believe whatever makes somebody feel powerful while wearing, should be celebrated to wear it. The world needs to move forward not backward.

Most of Valente’s pieces are solid-colored, but there are a few items like the 1945 Silk Set and Lussuria Tee that feature photographs. What was the inspiration behind these pieces?
One day last Christmas break my mom brought out an old album book that we all have never seen before. I knew instantly I was going to create a pattern from the history I was witnessing. The 1945 silk set pays tribute to my Italian family because at the end of the day this is OUR story together and they have all inspired me to be the person I am today.

The Lussuria Tee means LUST. I wanted to create Valente’s own symbol of lust, stripping away the flesh & yearning for each other's souls. It features two talented individuals,- BJ Paulin & Johnny Santos. Photo by Spaced Visuals, edited & designed by me.

In addition to being the owner and designer of Valente, you also direct the video campaigns for the brand. The campaigns are visually captivating and combine fashion, dance, music, and architecture. What is the process of directing like? Do you typically already have an idea for the campaign when you’re designing?
Thank you for this question. Aside from Valente, I co-own a production company called Spaced Visuals with my partner Pseudo. Directing is a big passion of mine and getting to mix my fashion and directing skills together is a dream. The process is different each time, but usually the campaign idea is created prior to designing the clothes. Since I’ve been used to creative directing visuals for some time now, that tends to come naturally to me. It helps me create the story, the aesthetic, and the overall theme for the collection before diving in. I can picture silhouettes, colors, and movement of the clothing. After the visual idea, I begin designing. When the clothing samples are finished I return back to the campaign. I gather all ideas into a treatment to create the story, from lighting, location, cast, music, props, choreography, and so on. From there I gather my team and cast. My talented brother, Sam Louis, creates the soundtrack for me, which allows us to mold it specifically to the vision or vice versa. Then we shoot all the content and edit. I love having my hands in every part of the process from start to finish.

What can we expect from Valente in the future?
The future of Valente will continue to expand in all ways: in-person pop-ups, showrooms, new bold collections, collaborations, and more. It is a WORLD we are creating so we won’t stop at just clothing. We will have concerts, yoga retreats, and whatever else my brain can conjure.

You featured drag queen Laganja Estranja in a campaign for your ERA I collection. How did the collaboration come about?
I met the beautiful Laganja Estranja through dance many years ago. I actually performed for her at RuPaul’s DRAGCON 2017: Battle on the Runways performance in Los Angeles. I decided to send her some Valente years later and she fell in love with the brand. Our collaboration was natural and inspiring. She talked so strongly about the gender-neutral element, and you can tell it came from her heart. I felt honored to feature her and am always honored to have her in my life.

Is there anyone else you’d love to collaborate with?
Absolutely- Nikita Dragun, Winnie Harlow, Kim Petras, Sita Abellán, Kid Super (dream collab), 070 Shake, Parris Goebel, Jean Dawson, Rosalia, Rihanna, Mugler, Umbro, and many more.

What trends are you currently loving?
I feel with social media /TikTok especially there are many trends right now coming in and out so fast. I honestly try to stay away from pigeonholing myself into trends, BUT I’m loving the resurgence of pinks and you may see Valente hop on that in the near future.

When you aren’t designing or directing, what do you enjoy doing?
Traveling, going on beach runs, yoga, finding new restaurants and bars, cooking, hanging with friends, family, and my love.

Social Media.
@valenteworld.co / @angelicavalente_

Article by Taylor Houston, Assistant Fashion & Beauty Editor, PhotoBook Magazine
Tearsheets by Alexa Dyer, Graphic Design Coordinator, PhotoBook Magazine
*Images courtesy of Valente

Valente: Gender Neutral Brand That Focuses on Quality and Equality