Italian fashion designer Valentino has died peacefully at his home in Rome, surrounded by loved ones, according to a statement issued by the Valentino Garavani and Giancarlo Giammetti Foundation.
The funeral will take place on Friday 23 January at 11:00 at the Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri, in Piazza della Repubblica, Rome.
Valentino was born in Voghera on 11 May 1932 and, as he would later recount, was drawn to beauty from an early age. One formative moment, which later became part of fashion folklore, occurred during his adolescence when he accompanied his family to the Barcelona Opera. Surrounded by elegantly dressed women in red, he realised how universally flattering the colour was, adopting it forever as his signature shade.
Distinguished early on
After studying in Milan, he moved to Paris in 1949 at the age of 17, enrolling at the École des Beaux-Arts of the Chambre Syndicale de la Couture Parisienne. At a time when Italian designers were not highly regarded in France, he distinguished himself by winning the Woolmark Prize, the same award that helped launch the career of his close friend Karl Lagerfeld. He trained under Jean Dessès and later worked for Guy Laroche, whom he met in the atelier.
In 1959, he returned to Italy and settled in Rome, then the centre of Italian haute couture. Early photographs show him working on his sister’s wedding dress, while one of his first designs was a knee-length gown covered in tulle roses, graduating from pink to red, a motif that would recur throughout his career.
In 1960, on Via Veneto, Valentino met Giancarlo Giammetti, then an architecture student. Their meeting marked the beginning of one of fashion’s most enduring and productive partnerships. Valentino devoted himself entirely to design, while Giammetti managed the business with clarity and determination. Diana Vreeland, who shared Valentino’s love of red, famously dubbed them “The Boys”.
Symbol of an era
The Valentino brand made its debut in Florence in 1962 at the Sala Bianca of the Pitti Palace. However, the defining moment that elevated him from a leading designer to a symbol of an era came in 1967, when he presented an all-white collection.
His career flourished internationally. He dressed Elizabeth Taylor for her wedding and created gowns for royalty and aristocracy, including Marie-Chantal of Greece. He often noted with pride that six actresses won Academy Awards while wearing his designs: Julia Roberts, in a vintage 1992 Valentino gown, Jessica Lange, Cate Blanchett, Mercedes Ruehl, Sophia Loren and Jessica Tandy.