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Veteran jet-setting Italian fashion designer Valentino Garavani has died at his home in Rome. He was 93 years old.
Often known for his flamboyant gowns in his trademark ‘Valentino Red’ hue, he was a stalwart of the country’s fashion industry, and his company remained relevant from its early days in the 1960s and for decades after his own retirement in 2008.
In a statement posted on social media, his foundation said: “Valentino Garavani is not only a constant mentor and inspiration to all of us, but also a true source of light, creativity and vision.”
“I know what women want”
Valentino, widely known by its first name, has been loved by generations of royals, first ladies and movie stars, from Jackie Kennedy Onassis to Julia Roberts to Queen Rania of Jordan, with the designer vowing to always make them look and feel their best.
“I know what women want,” he once said. “They want to be beautiful.”
Never one for edgy style or statement dressing, Valentino made few fashion mistakes throughout his nearly half-century career. His fail-safe designs have made Valentino the king of the red carpet and the go-to for big-name stars for their award show needs.
His gorgeous dresses have graced countless Academy Awards, most notably in 2001, when Roberts wore a vintage black and white column to win Best Actress.
Cate Blanchett also wore a butter yellow silk one-shoulder number, Valentino, when she won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar in 2004.
Valentino also designed the long-sleeved lace dress that Jacqueline Kennedy wore to her wedding to Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis in 1968. Kennedy and Valentino have been close friends for decades, and at one point Kennedy, the first lady of the United States, wore Valentino almost exclusively.
He was also close to Princess Diana, and often wore extravagant dresses.
Beyond his signature orange-red hue, other Valentino trademarks included ribbons, ruffles, lace, and embroidery. That is, it is a feminine and flirty decoration that enhances the beauty of the dress and the person who wears it.
cinema paradise
Valentino was born on May 11, 1932 in the northern Italian town of Voghera into a wealthy family. He said that his love of movies as a child led him to pursue a career in fashion.
“I was obsessed with the silver screen, and I was obsessed with beauty. I loved seeing movie stars sensational, well-dressed and always perfect,” he explained in a 2007 television interview.
After studying fashion in Milan and Paris, she spent much of the 1950s working for the famous Paris-based designer Jean Dessesses, and then for Guy Laroche before striking out on her own. He founded the House of Valentino in 1959 in Via Condotti in Rome.
Early fans included Italian film actors Gina Lollobrigida and Sophia Loren, and Hollywood stars Elizabeth Taylor and Audrey Hepburn. Legendary American Vogue editor-in-chief Diana Vreeland also took the young designer under her wing.
perfect picture
Always tanned and always impeccably dressed, Valentino shared the lifestyle of his jet-setting patrons. In addition to his 46-meter yacht and art collection that included works by Picasso and Miró, the couturier owned a 17th-century chateau near Paris with a garden said to boast more than a million roses.
Valentino and his long-time partner Giancarlo Giammetti bounced around their homes (including New York, London, Rome, Capri and Gstaad, Switzerland) with their flock of pugs, and were regularly joined by A-list A-list friends such as Madonna and Gwyneth Paltrow.
“When I meet someone and unfortunately she’s running around relaxed in jogging pants without any make-up…I feel very bad,” the designer said in a 2007 interview with RTL TV. “For me, a woman is like a beautiful, beautiful bouquet of flowers. She must always be sensational, always please, always perfect, always please her husband, her lover and everyone else, because we are born to always show our best selves.”
Over the years, Valentino’s empire expanded as the designer added lines of ready-to-wear, men’s clothing, and accessories to his stable. Valentino and Giametti sold the brand to an Italian holding company in 1998 for an estimated $300 million. Valentino would continue in his design role for the next ten years.
Valentino has been the subject of several retrospectives, including one at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in a wing of the Louvre in Paris. He was also the subject of a hit 2008 documentary. Valentino: The Last Emperor It marked the end of his fashion career.
His body will lie in state at the foundation’s headquarters in Rome on Wednesday and Thursday.
The funeral will be held on Friday, January 23rd at 11:00 a.m. in the Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli dei Martiri, 8 Piazza della Repubblica in Rome.