When we look at the ways in which luxury fashion houses give back to the creative industry, we can agree that Valentino are often at the forefront of many initiatives. Its latest iteration, entitled #WritersRoadmapxValentino, is an educational programme created with the intention of fostering the emerging generation of writers.
In the new initiative - which gives directly back to the arts- the Maison has collaborated with bestselling author and Time 100 listee Tomi Adeyemi, to offer guidance and support to the selected scholars. “I am so excited to partner with Valentino for this venture,” Adeyemi said, “these writers are a group that I expect to lead the next generation of great writers.” The Writers Roadmap was founded by Adeyemi in 2020 with the intention to help writers navigate bringing their ideas to life through a digital mentorship programme.
Enrolment for the programme’s most recent series of courses opened back in December 2020, but this time, Valentino came aboard with an offering of scholarships to the sought-after programme. What followed was a rigorous selection process with applicants taking to Instagram to highlight why they should be considered. The result, was 50 young writers from across the globe securing a scholarship to the programme.
Adeyemi's programme commenced on December 14, 2020, and since then, the Valentino scholars have been taking to Instagram to share their progress and gratitude to the House for the opportunity.
One of the scholars, Giselle Vriesen, posted a video explaining why writing is so important to her. Another, by the name of Kenta Tahir wrote, “The Writers Roadmap represents a new era of writers who can finally let their dreams become reality. It is a space that does not allow a writers idea to die; but to live, be revived and live through other for generations to come. To me, it means an opportunity to build and empire. The represent a legacy of writers who looks like myself and prove that you are not what others perceive you to be. You are the apex. You are the capstone that shines above the stars and waves that ripple below the ocean. You are the creator of your own universe.”
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You can read more about the emerging authors and their progress at the Valentino website.
