How Valentino made Hollywood the enduring obsession of fashion world

Valentino Garavani, the jet-set Italian designer whose high-glamour gowns — often in his trademark shade of “Valentino red” — were fashion show staples for nearly half a century, died on Monday. He was 93. Universally known by his first name, Valentino was adored by generations of royals, first ladies and movie stars, from Jackie Kennedy Onassis to Julia Roberts and Queen Rania of Jordan, who swore the designer always made them look and feel their best.

“I know what women want,” he once remarked. “They want to be beautiful.” Though Italian-born and despite maintaining his atelier in Rome, he mostly unveiled his collections in Paris, and spoke French with his Italian partner Giammetti, an entrepreneur. Alessandro Michele, the current creative director of the Valentino fashion house, wrote in Instagram that he continues to feel Valentino’s “gaze” as he works on the next collection, which will be presented on March 12 in Rome, departing from the usual venue of Paris.

Never one for edginess or statement dressing, Valentino made precious few fashion faux pas throughout his nearly half-century career, which stretched from his early days in Rome in the 1960s through to his retirement in 2008. His fail-safe designs made Valentino the king of the red carpet, the go-to man for A-listers’ awards ceremony needs. His sumptuous gowns have graced countless Academy Awards, notably in 2001, when Roberts wore a vintage black and white column to accept her best actress statue.

Gwyneth Paltrow and Valentino Garavani pose at the West Coast premiere of 'Valentino: The Last Emperor' on April 1, 2009. File/Reuters

Cate Blanchett also wore Valentino — a one-shouldered number in butter-yellow silk — when she won the Oscar for best supporting actress in 2005. Valentino was also behind the long-sleeved lace dress Jacqueline Kennedy wore for her wedding to Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis in 1968. Kennedy and Valentino were close friends for decades, and for a spell the one-time U.S. first lady wore almost exclusively Valentino.

He was also close to Diana, Princess of Wales, who often donned his sumptuous gowns. Beyond his signature orange-tinged shade of red, other Valentino trademarks included bows, ruffles, lace and embroidery; in short, feminine, flirty embellishments that added to the dresses’ beauty and hence to that of the wearers. Perpetually tanned and always impeccably dressed, Valentino shared the lifestyle of his jet-set patrons. In addition to his 152-foot (46-meter) yacht and an art collection including works by Picasso and Miro, the couturier owned a 17th-century chateau near Paris with a garden said to boast more than a million roses.

Valentino arrives with a model before the screening of 'The Devil Wears Prada' at the Lido of Venice, on Sept.7, 2006, during the 63rd Venice International Film Festival. File/Agence France-Presse

Valentino and his longtime partner Giammetti flitted among their homes — which also included places in New York, London, Rome, Capri and Gstaad, Switzerland — travelling with their pack of pugs. The pair regularly received A-list friends and patrons, including Madonna and Gwyneth Paltrow.

Valentino was born into a well-off family in the northern Italian town of Voghera on May 11, 1932. He said it was his childhood love of cinema that set him down the fashion path.

“I was crazy for silver screen, I was crazy for beauty, to see all those movie stars being sensation, well dressed, being always perfect,” he explained in the 2007 television interview.

Elizabeth Hurley and Valentino pose at the Festival Palace for the opening ceremony of the 60th edition of the Cannes Film Festival on May 16, 2007. File/Agence France-Presse

After studying fashion in Milan and Paris, he spent much of the 1950s working for established Paris-based designer Jean Desses and later Guy Laroche before striking out on his own. He founded the house of Valentino on Rome’s Via Condotti in 1959.

From the beginning, Giammetti was by his side, handling the business aspect while Valentino used his natural charm to build a client base among the world’s rich and fabulous.

After some early financial setbacks — Valentino’s tastes were always lavish, and the company spent with abandon — the brand took off.

Early fans included Italian screen sirens Gina Lollobrigida and Sophia Loren, as well as Hollywood stars Elizabeth Taylor and Audrey Hepburn. Legendary American Vogue editor-in-chief Diana Vreeland also took the young designer under her wing.

Models join the public in clapping hands as they flank Valentino Garavani at the end of the show of his spring-summer collection in Rome, on Jan.20, 1971. File/Associated Press

Over the years, Valentino’s empire expanded as the designer added ready-to-wear, menswear and accessories lines to his stable. Valentino and Giammetti sold the label to an Italian holding company for an estimated $300 million in 1998. Valentino would remain in a design role for another decade.

In 2007, the couturier feted his 45th anniversary in fashion with a 3-day blowout in Rome, capped with a grand ball in the Villa Borghese gallery.

Valentino retired in 2008 and was briefly replaced by fellow Italian Alessandra Facchinetti, who had stepped into Tom Ford’s shoes at Gucci before being sacked after two seasons.

Facchinetti’s tenure at Valentino proved equally short. As early as her first show for the label, rumours swirled that she was already on her way out, and just about one year after she was hired, Facchinetti was indeed replaced by two longtime accessories designers at the brand, Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pierpaolo Piccioli.

Chiuri left to helm Dior in 2016, and Piccioli continued to lead the house through a golden period that drew on the launch of the Rockstud pump with Chiuri and his own signature colour, a shade of fuchsia called Pink PP. He left the house in 2024, later joining Balenciaga, and has been replaced by Michele, who revived Gucci’s stars with romantic, genderless styles.

Associated Press