She made the whole world blush as Anastasia Steele, danced on the edge of the abyss in “Suspiria”, roamed New York as a gloriously single woman and then as matchmaker to the elite. Dakota Johnson works in layers: softness on the surface, irony and steel underneath. Alongside Alexander Skarsgård, she is the face of Vendetta, Valentino's new fragrance duo — and of Vendetta Donna in particular, a solar tuberose co-signed by master perfumer Dominique Ropion. A portrait of an actress of ambivalence, and a dive into the Valentino universe at Olara perfumery.
1“Fifty Shades of Grey”: the Anastasia breakthrough
In 2015, Sam Taylor-Johnson adapted E. L. James's bestseller and handed a near-unknown the most scrutinised role of the decade: Anastasia Steele, a literature student drawn into the orbit of billionaire Christian Grey. “Fifty Shades of Grey” became a global phenomenon, and Dakota Johnson — daughter of Melanie Griffith and Don Johnson, granddaughter of Tippi Hedren — established what would become her signature: an apparent candour that never quite surrenders control. Two sequels, in 2017 and 2018, closed the trilogy. Desire as a playing field: there could be no better prelude to a perfume named Vendetta, waiting among our women's fragrances.
2“How to Be Single”: independence in New York
In 2016, in Christian Ditter's comedy “How to Be Single”, she plays Alice, a young woman who sets out to learn singlehood the way you learn a foreign language, swept into New York's nights by the irresistible Rebel Wilson. Beneath the inverted rom-com lies a manifesto: you are allowed to choose yourself. That laughing freedom, that charm all her own — it is exactly the attitude of the solar, free-spirited trails in our women's eaux de parfum.
3“Suspiria”: dancing on the edge
A radical change of register in 2018: Luca Guadagnino transformed her into Susie Bannion, an American dancer admitted into a prestigious Berlin company with venomous secrets, in his reimagining of Dario Argento's “Suspiria”, opposite Tilda Swinton. Dakota Johnson gave it body and soul — months of choreographic training for dance scenes of telluric intensity. Critics discovered a true character actress, magnetic and unsettling, able to make the light flicker. That duality — pale petals, dark heart — is precisely what a great tuberose tells.
4“Materialists”: love in the age of calculation
In the summer of 2025, Celine Song — revealed by “Past Lives” — gave her one of her finest roles: Lucy Mason, a professional matchmaker for New York's elite, caught in a love triangle between Pedro Pascal and Chris Evans. “Materialists” asks what love is worth when everything can be counted — and Dakota Johnson is disarmingly precise in it, funny and melancholy at once. The circle closes: ten years after Anastasia, she is now the one orchestrating other people's desire.
5Face of Vendetta Donna: tuberose, blood orange, sandalwood
Since August 2026, Dakota Johnson has been — alongside Alexander Skarsgård — the face of Vendetta Donna, the feminine eau de parfum of Valentino's new Vendetta duo. The campaign, filmed by Romain Gavras and photographed by the duo Inez & Vinoodh, follows two lovers on a romantic escape along the California coast — the very one on our banner. The composition is co-signed by Dominique Ropion — the master perfumer behind Portrait of a Lady and La Vie Est Belle, whose portrait we recently drew — and Andrew Everett. Their idea: a Colombian tuberose captured through a novel extraction, free of solvents and heat, rounded with a blood orange nectar inspired by Italy's Tarocco and set on a creamy New Caledonian sandalwood. Solar, carnal, magnetic — discover it in our Valentino collection. For him, Vendetta Uomo answers with sparkling ginger and a cinnamon-liqueur accord on a woody base.
Did you know?
Vendetta was not born in 2026: Valentino already launched a fragrance of that name in 1991. Thirty-five years on, the house has reinvented it around a technical feat: the “Osmobloom” extraction of tuberose, without solvents or heat — it takes the essence of some 6,000 fresh flowers, hand-picked at dusk in Colombia, to obtain 100 grams of extract.
6Which Valentino should you choose?
Two great families share the house's feminine wardrobe. Vendetta Donna, the 2026 newcomer, plays the solar tuberose as an eau de parfum, from the 30 ml discovery size to the full 100 ml. Facing it, the Roman line: Donna Born in Roma, the bestseller built on a trio of vanillas and jasmine, which the eau de parfum intense steers towards the night and the Extradose parfum condenses to the extreme. In a greener register, Green Stravaganza Donna brings freshness, while Purple Melancholia explores a more introspective floral melancholy and Voce Viva Intensa makes a luminous, assertive floral vibrate. Day to day, the Born in Roma scented moisturising cream extends the ritual, and our women's fragrance gift sets make it an obvious present. To understand what these concentrations really change — eau de parfum, intense, Extradose — our guide to fragrance intensities breaks it down. And if ambassadors fascinate you, our portrait of Sydney Sweeney, face of Armani's My Way, continues the series.
Your questions, answered
Which perfume does Dakota Johnson represent?
Dakota Johnson is, alongside Alexander Skarsgård, the face of Valentino's Vendetta, launched in August 2026. She embodies Vendetta Donna, the feminine eau de parfum of the duo, in a campaign filmed by Romain Gavras on the California coast.
Which films does Dakota Johnson appear in?
She stars in Sam Taylor-Johnson's “Fifty Shades of Grey” (Anastasia Steele), Christian Ditter's “How to Be Single” (Alice), Luca Guadagnino's “Suspiria” (Susie Bannion) and Celine Song's “Materialists” (Lucy Mason), opposite Pedro Pascal and Chris Evans.
What does Vendetta Donna smell like?
A solar, carnal Colombian tuberose in the top notes, a blood orange nectar inspired by Italy's Tarocco at the heart, and a creamy New Caledonian sandalwood in the base. A floral, fruity and woody eau de parfum all at once.
Who created Vendetta Donna?
The composition is co-signed by master perfumer Dominique Ropion — author of Frédéric Malle's Portrait of a Lady and Lancôme's La Vie Est Belle, among others — and perfumer Andrew Everett.
What is the difference between Vendetta Donna and Born in Roma?
Donna Born in Roma is the house's gourmand signature: a trio of vanillas, jasmine, a woody base. Vendetta Donna, launched in 2026, is more floral and solar: tuberose leads, lifted by blood orange and sandalwood. The first envelops you, the second radiates.
