He was one of the true fashion greats, who dressed the world’s most beautiful women – including Audrey Hepburn, Elizabeth Taylor, Sophia Loren and Jacqueline Kennedy.
Valentino Garavani, the Italian couturier whose name became synonymous with timeless elegance, unapologetic romance and a very specific shade of red, has passed away peacefully at his home in Rome. He was 93.
For more than half a century, Valentino dressed queens and movie stars, socialites and first ladies, shaping a version of glamour that has arguably never been surpassed.
In an industry addicted to novelty, Valentino was that rare thing – a designer who had a clear signature and never faltered from his vision.
‘I know what women want. They want to be beautiful,’ he once said. For Valentino, it was as simple – and as difficult – as that.
Born in 1932 in Voghera, a small town in northern Italy, with a name like Valentino Clemente Ludovico Garavani he was destined to be a designer. He set his sights on the lofty world of fashion at a fairly young age.
By 17, he had precociously moved to Paris to train at the prestigious Ecole des Beaux-Arts and the Chambre Syndicale, where he absorbed the rigours of French haute couture before returning to Rome in the late 1950s to establish his own atelier.
Together with his business partner, Giancarlo Giammetti, he founded the house of Valentino in 1960.
Valentino Garavani (pictured, centre), the Italian couturier whose name became synonymous with timeless elegance, unapologetic romance and a very specific shade of red, has passed away peacefully at his home in Rome
Julia Roberts (pictured) wearing Valentino at the Oscars award ceremony in March 2001
From the beginning, his work had both an Italian warmth and sensuality as well as perfect French construction and precision. That synthesis would define his career.
His breakthrough came in the early 1960s, when his designs began to attract international attention for their precise tailoring.
Unlike many of his contemporaries, Valentino believed in a refined femininity. Trends didn’t interest him – of far more interest was perfection.
It’s why he spent his career searching for the perfect ‘Valentino red’, a vibrant, sophisticated hue that became his calling card, the name of one of his scents and a recurring presence on runways and the red carpet.
His rise coincided with the ascent of celebrity culture. Jacqueline Kennedy, later Onassis, became one of his most influential clients, wearing his designs both in public life and in private.
After discovering Valentino in 1964, she bought six couture dresses, wearing them throughout her mourning period for John F Kennedy.
When she married her second husband, Aristotle Onassis, in 1968, she wore a white Chantilly lace dress with a pleated skirt from the designer’s well-received ‘white’ collection of 1967.
Sophia Loren, Audrey Hepburn and Elizabeth Taylor were equally enamoured of Valentino’s elegant designs.
Valentino appeared as himself in 2006’s The Devil Wears Prada (pictured with Meryl Streep in the movie)
Valentino founded the Valentino label in 1960 and sold the brand in 1998 for $300million and designed his last collection in 2008 (pictured 1995)
Iconic Italian fashion designer Valentino Garavani died aged of 93 ’surrounded by his loved ones’ at his home in Rome on Monday (pictured with Kim Kardashian in 2014)
After Taylor first wore a white feather-trimmed Valentino gown to the premiere of Spartacus in 1961, she returned to him time and time again, knowing his dresses would always become talking points.
He understood the theatre of clothes and had a keen understanding of how the right gown on the right woman could make an unforgettable impact.
It’s no surprise that Valentino features prominently in every Academy Awards ‘best dressed’ list.
Julia Roberts’ black and white vintage Valentino gown, worn in 2001, is still seen as one of the most memorable red carpet moments in the ceremony’s 96-year history.
Over the years, stars including Loren, Jessica Lange, Reese Witherspoon, Cate Blanchett, and Jennifer Lopez have chosen to wear Valentino on Oscar night, confident that his mastery of colour and form would always make them look their best.
Many of the women he dressed became friends, most notably Princess Diana who wore him often and became so close to him that she would holiday on his private yacht throughout the 1990s. It provided a safe haven when paparazzi interest was at its peak.
Valentino also developed a strong friendship with actress Anne Hathaway: the two bonded after he made a cameo appearance in 2006’s The Devil Wears Prada.
The actress frequently wore Valentino on the red carpet and asked him to design her wedding dress in 2012.
The designer with models like Naomi Campbell and Linda Evangelista after a fashion show on October 20, 1991 in Paris
He was renowned for his impeccable tailoring, glam gowns as well as the use signature shade of red, now universally known as ‘Valentino red’ (pictured 2007)
In 2008 Valentino retired, ending his 45-year reign with a swansong show held at Paris’s storied Musee Rodin.
Models and longtime muses including Naomi Campbell, Claudia Schiffer and Gisele Bundchen were invited, and the models in the show donned identical red dresses for the stunning finale, bathing the room in his signature hue.
He received a standing ovation, but as the audience dried its tears, Valentino himself remained impressively dry-eyed, ever the professional.
After Valentino handed over the reins, the role of creative director was given to Italian female fashion designer Alessandra Facchinetti, who was replaced by Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pierpaolo Piccioli after just two seasons.
Piccioli remained at the helm until March 2024, with former Gucci creative director Alessandro Michele stepping in on Piccioli’s departure.
Consummate professional as he was, Valentino didn’t shy from offering the world a 360-degree view of his lavish lifestyle.
Long before reality television was a genre of its own, he was more than happy to share the minutiae of his life with his fans, most notably in the 2008 documentary Valentino: The Last Emperor.
In it viewers had a glimpse of both his stubbornness as well as his genius. ‘He’s the only designer who lived the life that people think designers should live,’ said Philip Treacy, the British milliner who worked closely with Valentino for many years.
Valentino dressed everyone from Kim Kardashian and Victoria Beckham to Elizabeth Taylor (pictured with Princess Diana 1990)
His foundation took to Instagram to confirm the tragic news following his passing at his home in Rome (Pictured with Victoria Beckham in 2018)
Much of this was due to Giancarlo Giammetti’s influence. He and Valentino were life partners for over 50 years and didn’t shirk from enjoying the spoils of their wealth, including lavish villas, luxury yachts and decadent dining.
While they bickered, they were fiendishly close, two elegant men with matching perma-tans, living life to the full, like true Italians.
The world is a dimmer and less well-dressed place without Valentino in it.
