Italian fashion legend Valentino Garavani, whose elegant night robes had been favored for many years by a number of the world’s most glamorous girls, has died at 93, in keeping with his foundation. He “peacefully passed away today at his residence in Rome, surrounded by the love of his family,” an announcement posted to Instagram stated.
Born within the northern city of Voghera, Italy, in 1932, Valentino — who was popularly recognized by his first identify — realized his commerce within the high fashion ateliers in Paris earlier than founding his personal line in Rome in 1959. Early on, he turned recognized for his pink attire, in a wealthy scarlet shade that turned his signature coloration to the extent that it was recognized throughout the business as “Valentino red.”
In 1960, he met his long-time enterprise associate (and, for 12 years, romantic associate) Giancarlo Giammetti, then a younger structure pupil. Together, the pair turned Valentino SpA into an internationally acknowledged model.
One of Valentino’s first well-known clients was the actress Elizabeth Taylor, whom he met whereas she was filming “Cleopatra” in Rome within the early Sixties. Other glamorous followers — and patrons — of Valentino’s work within the early years of his profession included Begum Aga Khan, Queen Paola of Belgium, the actresses Audrey Hepburn and Joan Collins and Jacqueline Kennedy, who even wore a Valentino robe to wed Greek transport big Aristotle Onassis in 1968.
His reputation would proceed because the a long time progressed. Valentino spent a lot of the Nineteen Seventies in New York, surrounded by a large circle of associates that included the artist Andy Warhol and Vogue editor Diana Vreeland. In the Nineties, he turned a favourite of the last decade’s supermodels, together with Claudia Schiffer and Naomi Campbell.
His creations additionally featured frequently on the pink carpet. At the Oscars alone, noteworthy Valentino ensembles over time have included the heavily-beaded robe Jane Fonda wore in 1981 when she accepted the Best Actor prize for her father, Henry; the classic black-and-white robe Julia Roberts wore in 2001; the pastel mint caftan-style robe Jennifer Lopez wore in 2003 and the sunshine yellow robe Cate Blanchett wore in 2005. (Both Roberts and Blanchett gained Oscars in these respective years.) At the 2011 Academy Awards, Anne Hathaway walked the pink carpet in an ornate Fall 2002 Valentino couture robe, accompanied by the designer himself.
In newer years, Zendaya, Carey Mulligan and Gemma Chan have been amongst fashion plate Oscars attendees carrying the label to a lot acclaim.
With his precision tailor-made fits, suntan and completely coiffed hair, Valentino was each bit the quintessential Italian gentleman. He was an avid collector of Chinese antiques and indulged his love of flowers and topiary within the landscaped grounds of his seventeenth century Chateau Wideville, outdoors of Paris, which he purchased in 1995. He additionally had houses in London, Paris, New York, Spain and Gstaad, Switzerland.
He was captivated with his pug canine and at one time owned six of them: Milton, Monty, Maude, Margot, Maggie and Molly.
“I don’t care about the collection,” he memorably proclaimed within the 2008 documentary “Valentino: The Last Emperor.” “My dogs are more important.”
In 1998, Valentino offered his firm to the Italian conglomerate HdP for some $300 million, though he continued to work for the corporate. Valentino retired from the business in 2008, after greater than 45 years, marking the tip of one of many longest careers in fashion. The event was marked with a star-studded fashion present at the Musée Rodin in Paris. For the finale, fashions donned equivalent “Valentino red” robes.
The designers Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pierpaolo Piccioli had been appointed as Valentino’s inventive administrators that 12 months. In 2016, Chiuri was named inventive director at Christian Dior; Piccioli stepped down in 2024 and was appointed inventive director at Balenciaga final 12 months. Following Piccioli’s departure, Alessandro Michele has helmed Valentino’s design for practically two years amid a wider business reshuffling.
For many, Valentino’s passing represents the tip of a era of old-world fashion maestros. And it appears he knew this too. When he was requested, within the 2008 documentary about his life, about others’ claims that he was irreplaceable, Valentino replied with a wry smile: “After me, the deluge.”
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