Lewis Hamilton becomes first menswear Di.Vas for Valentino

Formula 1 icon and Mercedes driver, Lewis Hamilton, has been named the first menswear Di.Vas, for Italian luxury fashion house Valentino.

On 1 June, the seven-time F1 champion appeared in Valentino PINK PP Collection advertising campaign as the brand’s first menswear Di.Vas.

Di.Vas is coined by Valentino from the first two letters of the phrase “Different Values.”

“The contemporary need to identify, to belong yet feel different, to risk and to feel strength. The modern DIVA is a complex character of codes, upheld by inner values,” Valentino had defined the idea in an Instagram post in December 2020.

Since then, actors Zendaya and Son Ye-Jin have also been named as Valentino Di.Vas.

Valentino launches ‘Creating Shared Value’ section

On 31 May, Valentino launched a new conscious-driven section on its website, helping its consumers learn more about the luxury fashion brand’s sustainability approach.

Dubbed ‘Creating Shared Value’, the internal section features stories of the house’s increasing transition to green initiatives, in social and environmental fields.

In a statement, Valentino said that it will focus on three values — People, Planet, Product — while connecting with those outside the brand.

As per Valentino, it is the first luxury brand to partner with Italy-based digital sustainability measuring site Karma Metrix. Valentino said that it will act according to a study, to be carried out to raise awareness about sustainability, and other green initiatives within the brand.

The fashion house also expressed commitment to ethics and sustainability through partnerships with cultural organisations.

In its statement, the brand added that it is aiming to “stimulate positive social change” among artists, youths, and their communities through scholarships, mentorship and conversations.

The section also underlines Valentino’s focus on manufacturing products that help in green transition.

Stop-motion film showing Valentino’s green approach

As part of the ‘Creating Shared Value’ approach, Valentino hired BAFTA-winning animator Ainslie Henderson to create a stop-motion video.

In the short video, Henderson, who is the founder of the Amphibian Husbandry studio and talent of Curate Films, uses a 100 percent organic green cotton thread from the Netherlands to create the Valentino logo, the planet Earth, and people on a recycled cotton canvas.

(Main and Featured images: Lewis Hamilton/@lewishamilton/Instagram)

This story first appeared on Prestige Online – Singapore