VALENTINO GARAVANI, THE LAST GREAT COUTURIER OF OLD-WORLD GLAMOUR, DIES AT 93
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Valentino Garavani, the Italian designer whose name became synonymous with elegance, precision, and an unmistakable shade of red, has died at the age of 93. He passed away peacefully on January 19 at his home in Rome, surrounded by loved ones, according to a statement shared by his foundation.
Born Valentino Clemente Ludovico Garavani on May 11, 1932, in Voghera, Italy, the famously mononymous designer built one of fashion’s most enduring legacies. After studying at the École des Beaux-Arts and the Chambre Syndicale de la Couture Parisienne in Paris, and apprenticing under Jacques Fath, Cristóbal Balenciaga, Jean Dessès, and Guy Laroche, Valentino returned to Italy to establish his own maison in Rome in 1959. A year later, he met Giancarlo Giammetti, his lifelong business partner and, for a period, romantic partner. Together, they transformed Valentino into a global luxury empire.
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Valentino’s ascent coincided with the rise of international jet-set culture. One of his earliest champions was Elizabeth Taylor, whom he met while she was filming “Cleopatra” in Rome. Jacqueline Kennedy soon followed, becoming one of his most influential clients. She purchased and wore six Valentino designs in the year following President John F. Kennedy’s assassination and later chose the designer to create her wedding gown for her marriage to Aristotle Onassis in 1968. That moment firmly cemented Valentino’s place in fashion history.
Over the decades, his clientele expanded to include European royalty, first ladies, and Hollywood’s most celebrated figures, among them Audrey Hepburn, Sophia Loren, Gwyneth Paltrow, Nicole Kidman, Jennifer Aniston, Anne Hathaway, and Julia Roberts. Valentino became the ultimate red-carpet designer, responsible for some of the most memorable awards-season looks of the last half-century. Julia Roberts accepted her Best Actress Oscar in 2001 wearing a vintage black-and-white Valentino gown; Cate Blanchett won in a butter-yellow Valentino in 2005; Jennifer Lopez wore a mint-green reinterpretation of a Valentino design to the 2003 Oscars; and Anne Hathaway arrived at the 2011 Academy Awards in a Fall 2002 Valentino couture gown, escorted by the designer himself.
While he will forever be associated with “Valentino red”—a vivid scarlet shade so distinctive it became industry shorthand—his work was equally defined by immaculate tailoring, refined embellishment, and a devotion to formality. Bows, lace, ruffles, embroidery, and sculptural silhouettes ran through his collections, projecting a vision of femininity rooted in polish and ceremony rather than provocation. Valentino did not chase trends; he refined an ideal of beauty that endured.
In 1998, Valentino and Giammetti sold the company for an estimated $300 million, marking one of the most significant fashion acquisitions of its era, though the designer continued to work and design for the house for another decade.
In 2008, Valentino announced his retirement, saying he wished “to leave the party when it is still full.” His final haute couture show, staged at the Musée Rodin in Paris in January of that year, was an emotional farewell attended by a star-studded audience. The moment was later captured in the documentary “Valentino: The Last Emperor,” directed by Matt Tyrnauer, which followed the designer and Giammetti through the final years of his career. In the film, Valentino summed up his philosophy with characteristic clarity: “I know what women want. They want to be beautiful.”
Retirement did little to dim his presence. Valentino remained a visible figure at couture shows and cultural events, supporting successive creative directors and continuing to live the lifestyle his brand represented. He divided his time between homes in Rome, Paris, New York, London, and beyond, hosted lavish gatherings at his Château de Wideville outside Paris, and traveled with his beloved pugs, which became something of a personal signature.
Tributes from the fashion world have been swift and heartfelt. In a statement published by Vogue, Anna Wintour reflected on Valentino’s character and legacy, saying: “He adored his extraordinary clients and led the life they did—and so he totally understood their needs. His manners were impeccable. He was breathtakingly polite, admiring, and generous. Yes, he was of a certain world, but not boxed in by it. His clothes were effortless, feminine, and delightful.”
Throughout his career, Valentino received numerous honors, including France’s Chevalier de la Légion d’honneur, the Medal of the City of Paris, the Couture Council Award for Artistry of Fashion from the Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology, and the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement.
A lying in state will be held on January 21 and 22 at PM23 in Piazza Mignanelli 23 in Rome. Funeral services will take place on January 23 at the Basilica Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri.
With Valentino Garavani’s passing, fashion loses not just a designer, but a worldview—one shaped by discipline, beauty, and the belief that elegance, when done right, never goes out of style.
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