From The Materialists to Valentino, actress, producer, and director Dakota Johnson has a way of making cool look effortless. Her appointment as Valentino’s new global brand ambassador feels perfectly in step with her quietly powerful evolution.
Johnson and Alessandro Michele, Valentino’s recently appointed creative director (and her longtime friend), share an aesthetic shorthand built on artistry, wit, and an appreciation for imperfection. “I’m elated to be joining the Valentino family, and beyond happy to be reunited with my dearest friend Alessandro Michele,” Johnson said. “I’m honored and excited to begin this new chapter with a team of such wonderful and talented people.”
It’s a pairing that makes sense. Johnson’s style has always leaned more lived-in than look-at-me. It’s the kind of elegance that doesn’t demand attention but inevitably gets it. In Valentino, that translates to modern romance: structured tailoring softened by personality, a brand built on drama now finding its muse in understatement.
Over the years, Johnson has become the face of a certain kind of quiet confidence. One that values creative control as much as red carpet polish. With Maison Valentino, that confidence finds a new canvas. The partnership signals a continued shift toward storytelling and cultural resonance. And with Dakota Johnson at its center, that story just got a little more interesting.