Valentino's New Fragrance "Vendetta" Casts Dakota Johnson and Skarsgård in a Runaway Romance
Directed by Romain Gavras and shot by Inez & Vinoodh on 35mm, the film sees the two leads play out a tale of desire between sun-bleached open roads and shadowy interiors for Valentino's latest dual fragrance.
The road is bleached white under the sun, while indoors it's almost too dark to make out a face — Valentino Beauty tells the story of its new fragrance "Vendetta" through a short film shot on 35mm. Director Romain Gavras cast Dakota Johnson and Alexander Skarsgård in the lead roles, with cinematography by Inez & Vinoodh and a soundtrack featuring Pet Shop Boys' "It's a Sin." Onscreen, the two move like a pair of souls locked in mutual pull yet unable to let go, drifting back and forth between sunlit highways and shadowed rooms — chasing not so much each other, but an urge to break free.
Valentino's signature red runs through the entire film — flashing in a billowing hem, a gesture, a glance backward — planting a signal for what's about to unfold. This visual thread also mirrors the fragrance's own narrative logic: two scents, each standing on their own yet echoing one another, completing a single sentence about desire through scent alone.
"Vendetta Donna" was co-created by perfumers Dominique Ropion and Andrew Everett, falling under the floral gourmand woody category, built around a heady dose of Tuberose Osmobloom™. The top note bursts with juicy red orange sweetness before settling into a warm, long-lasting sandalwood base. The men's version, "Vendetta Uomo," comes from perfumer Marie Salamagne and takes a spicy gourmand woody route — opening with a fresh blend of Peruvian ginger CO2 extract and Italian citrus, moving into an almost addictive boozy cinnamon heart, and finishing on a solid base of patchouli and woods.
The bottle design carries through this same "two-as-one" logic. The glass bottle is carved with a sculptural "V" shape, while the cap is molded with the kind of draped, rippling texture often seen in Valentino's clothing. "Vendetta Donna" holds a deep wine-red liquid, while "Vendetta Uomo" glows a warm cognac amber — light filtering through the structured glass, condensing the entire film's mood into the size of a single bottle.
The "Vendetta" collection is now available on the Valentino Beauty official website and at counters.
