Italian fashion legend Valentino Garavani, whose elegant night robes had been favored for many years by among the world’s most glamorous girls, has died at 93, in accordance with his foundation. He “peacefully passed away today at his residence in Rome, surrounded by the love of his family,” a press release 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 of Paris earlier than founding his personal line in Rome in 1959. Early on, he turned recognized for his pink clothes, in a wealthy scarlet shade that turned his signature colour to the extent that it was recognized throughout the trade as “Valentino red.”
In 1960, he met his long-time enterprise accomplice (and, for 12 years, romantic accomplice) Giancarlo Giammetti, then a younger structure scholar. Together, the pair turned Valentino SpA into an internationally acknowledged model.
One of Valentino’s first well-known prospects was the actress Elizabeth Taylor, whom he met whereas she was filming “Cleopatra” in Rome within the early Nineteen 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 delivery big Aristotle Onassis in 1968.
His recognition continued because the many years progressed. Valentino spent a lot of the Seventies in New York, surrounded by a large circle of pals that included the artist Andy Warhol and Vogue editor Diana Vreeland. In the Nineteen Nineties, he turned a favourite of the last decade’s supermodels, together with Claudia Schiffer and Naomi Campbell.
His creations additionally featured commonly on the pink carpet. At the Oscars alone, noteworthy Valentino ensembles through the years 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 keen about his pug canines 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 trade in 2008, after greater than 45 years, marking the top 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 similar “Valentino red” robes.
The designers Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pierpaolo Piccioli had been appointed as Valentino’s artistic administrators that 12 months. In 2016, Chiuri was named inventive director at Christian Dior; Piccioli stepped down in 2024 and was appointed artistic director at Balenciaga final 12 months. Following Piccioli’s departure, Alessandro Michele has helmed Valentino’s design for almost two years amid a wider trade reshuffling.
“Valentino Garavani was not only an undisputed protagonist of fashion, but a central figure in Italian cultural history. A man who pushed the boundaries of possibility, traversing the world with rare delicacy, silent rigor, and a boundless love of beauty,” Michele stated in a statement posted to his Instagram account. “He leaves us all a profound legacy: the idea that creating means caring, that beauty is radical and patient attention to bodies, to forms, and to the time that passes through and preserves them.”
Piccioli additionally spoke to Valentino’s sense of magnificence in a prolonged tribute to his mentor. “For you, beauty was never a luxury nor an ornament: it was a form of defence, a place of safety, the only one possible. A protection, a shield against the world,” he wrote. “You were my mentor without ever needing a lectern; you had no need of one. You taught me that fashion is joy, though a profoundly serious kind of joy.” Valentino additionally taught him how one can make the “most beautiful bows in the world,” Piccioli added.
Tributes poured in following the information of the legendary designer’s dying. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni known as him “the eternal symbol of Italian haute couture” in a statement on social media, thanking him for his contributions. Gwyneth Paltrow recalled his chortle, his love of firm and “a good Hollywood story,” and the way he at all times “pestered” her to “‘at least wear a little mascara,’” in a submit to her Instagram account. The household of Giorgio Armani, who died in September at 91, called Valentino “an undisputed master of grace and elegance, for whom Giorgio Armani always held great admiration.” The assertion continued: “Valentino embodied the excellence of couture, the rigor of craftsmanship, and a unique vision of fashion made of pure lines, iconic colors and absolute beauty. His passing leaves an immense void.”
For many, Valentino’s passing represents the top 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.”
This is a creating story and can be up to date.