Paris Fashion Week has had a Kendall Jenner–shaped absence, with the model missing many of the Spring 2020 shows. What has Jenner been up to instead? Well, in addition to some exciting projects in Los Angeles, she’s been getting ready to reveal her campaign for the Giambattista Valli x H&M collaboration. SH๏τ in Rome by Mert and Marcus, the ads show Jenner in Valli’s sweeping gowns throughout the city. “We had a really good time,” she told Vogue over the phone. “I don’t go to Rome often enough, so we got to explore a bit and try on dresses in the gardens. It was an all-around fun experience.”

For the model, starring in the campaign for Valli’s H&M collaboration was an easy choice. In 2017, she wore a one-shouldered Giambattista Valli gown on the Cannes Film Festival red carpet with a billowing train that she credits as one of her first red carpet risks. Since then, Jenner has been a Valli girl, choosing his pieces for other events and debuting his H&M collaboration on this year’s Cannes red carpet. And she has a secret about the big pink frock she wore to mark the news of her collaboration with the designer. Keep reading to find out why that dress is unlike all others and get Jenner’s styling tips for how to incorporate a little Valli drama into your own life.

What do you like about Giambattista Valli’s work? Why did you want to be in this campaign?

I’ve always been a really big fan of Giambattista Valli. I’ve worn a lot of his stuff on red carpets and we’ve created a relationship. I remember, I was trying on one of his dresses with my stylist for an event and we FaceTimed him to say hi and just show him the dress. He was like, “I really want you to come to Cannes with me. I have a surprise: I’m collaborating with H&M and I’d love for you to be a part of it.” Considering he and I had such a great relationship, it was an easy yes.

How do you feel when you wear one of his dresses?

His dresses always make me feel powerful, elegant, confident. There’s something about how big and fun they are that throws you into a different world, like a character almost.

Does it feel like a nice counter to your everyday style, to put on a big, fantastic dress?

Totally. With his stuff specifically, it’s so fun. I think one of his dresses was one of the first dresses I had a lot of fun with, in terms of taking risks with fashion and walking red carpets.

Do you remember the first Giambattista Valli dress you wore?

I think it was in Cannes, or at least the most extravagant one I wore was in Cannes. I wore a short little white dress with a floral print on it that had this long train that was blowing in the wind. It was so much fun; I remember I loved it and I felt so good in it. It was the first carpet where I was like, “I’m really going to go for it; I’m not just going to wear something simple and safe. I want to have fun with it.” I feel like that was my first Giambattista Valli moment.

When you’re getting dressed for a red carpet like that, do you have any reservations about making such a statement?

Not really. To be honest when I’m dressing myself for anything—but red carpets, obviously—I always just like to wear what I like and what I feel good in. I’m not too concerned about everybody else. I had someone ask me that recently. I was wearing a pretty extravagant dress last week, and when I put it on, someone I was with was like, “Do you want the whole world to like it or do you just want to like it?” I don’t care about everyone else, because everyone is always going to have something negative to say about something.

Do you have a favorite look from the collaboration?

I really liked the pink dress that I wore in Cannes, the little short one. I wore the short one, but we also made a long version for the carpet. They are not going to sell the long version. It was so funny because to make the long one, they basically sтιтched together a bunch of short dresses, so if someone really wanted it, they could buy a lot of short ones and sтιтch them together like we did! That was a really fun moment; I loved that little pink dress.

That’s wild that it is several small dresses sтιтched together. You would never guess that.

I know! We literally did it last minute. We tried the short one on, and I loved it, but I also wanted more of a moment for the amfAR red carpet. Giambattista was like, “No problem.” Then he, my stylist, and I sketched up some ideas. My stylist sketched up something on her iPad and sent it to him, and he was like, “We can make this happen.” It was a short-in-the-front, long-in-the-back style—he loves that style and has done it a couple of times.

The fact that dresses of that nature are going to be available at H&M is such a good get.

Totally. They’re super affordable. It’s really cool to have a couture line at H&M.

Do you have any style advice for the shoppers who will get the pieces from the collaboration at H&M?

Just have fun with it. I think mixing and matching is a fun thing, highs and lows are a fun thing. I think whatever you’re feeling and whatever makes you feel good is the way to do it. Don’t worry about what anyone else thinks or says.