Purple mood in Rome: Valentino’s Born in Roma goes melancholic

I didn’t expect to wake up wanting a perfume called melancholia. Yet here we are, and I’m low-key smitten with the audacity. Valentino is rolling out two limited editions: Born in Roma Donna Purple Melancholia and Born in Roma Uomo Purple Melancholia. The concept leans into “memories of a night in a Roman palace” and I’m already visualizing marble corridors, late conversations, and that sliver of purple sky before dawn.

Let’s place these in the family tree. The Purple Melancholia duo are new flankers to 2019’s Donna Born in Roma and Uomo Born in Roma, which themselves descended from the modern pillars Valentino Donna (2015) and Valentino Uomo (2014). If you’ve watched this house closely, you know the Born in Roma line is Valentino’s megaphone to a younger audience, with juice calibrated for city lights and a bottle that wears its rockstuds like jewelry. Purple Melancholia feels like the first time the brand gives the mood a seat at the table, not just the party.

Do I have flanker fatigue? Frequently. Do I want to smell this anyway? Absolutely. The word “melancholia” signals a shift from “neon-happy” to something quieter and more cinematic. It’s a smart counterpoint to an overcaffeinated market that insists every night out ends in glitter. Maybe this one ends in a velvet whisper.

A few things I’ll be watching when it hits counters:

• Does Born in Roma Donna Purple Melancholia lean silk and shadow instead of sugar rush?
• Does Born in Roma Uomo Purple Melancholia keep that urbane swagger without defaulting to generic ambered woods?
• How purple is the styling in real life, and does it earn the mood it’s selling?

I wore Valentino Donna to a friend’s winter wedding and remember how it framed the evening like a soft-focus shot. Valentino Uomo was my go-to recommendation for men who wanted handsome without trying too hard. The Born in Roma spin injected nightlife energy into both. If Purple Melancholia can bridge the glamour of the originals with a touch of introspection, this could be the line’s most interesting detour.

Limited editions come and go fast. If you collect within this series, or if the name alone calls your number, keep your nose ready. Rome at night is rarely a bad idea, especially when it shows you a new shade of purple.