The famous Italian designer Valentino Garavani died Monday at the age of 93 at his residence in Rome, according to his foundation.
“Our founder, Valentino Garavani, passed away today at his Roman residence, surrounded by his loved ones,” reads the terse statement from the Valentino Garavani and Giancarlo Giammetti Foundation posted on its social networks.
Born on May 11, 1932 in Voghera (Lombardy, northern Italy), he was the “last emperor” of design during a 45-year career at the helm of his fashion house.
They also confirmed that the wake will take place in Rome on Wednesday, January 21 and Thursday, January 22, while the funeral will be held on Friday, January 23 at the Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri Rome at 11:00 (10:00 GMT).
Specifically, the funeral chapel will be installed at PM23, the cultural center opened by the Valentino Foundation in Rome in Piazza Mignaelli.
Red in the fashion world has a name: the Italian designer Valentino. The charismatic stylist, who died on Monday in Rome at the age of 93, forged a fashion empire with his name, and elevated this color to the top of couture, so much so that there is such a thing as ‘Valentino red’.
Valentino Garavani, born on May 11, 1932 in Voghera (Lombardy, northern Italy), was the ‘last emperor’ of design during a 45-year career at the helm of his fashion house.
Retired since 2007, he never left the sewing room, leaving a legacy of timeless creations, full of details, bows, feathers, organza, pleats and drapes or ruffles, which will remain beautiful no matter how many years go by.
Beginnings in the Roman ‘dolce vita’.
Valentino was attracted to fashion from an early age and, with the support of his family, went to study at the age of 14 at the Scuola dell’Arte del Figurin in Milan, near his birthplace.
He completed his training in Paris, where he worked as a costume designer in the ateliers of one of the five greats of Haute Couture at the time, Jean Dessé, and then settled with Guy Laroche.
It was after this training period that Valentino settled in Rome in 1960, at the time of the ‘Dolce Vita’, and began a brilliant career that led him to rub shoulders with divas such as Elizabeth Taylor, Audrey Hepburn and Grace Kelly, who often visited his atelier.
In 1962 his first collection was a great success in Florence, but the big boost to the Valentino brand came in 1968, when the young designer with an eternal tan and impeccable hair astonished the world with the dress worn by Jackeline Kennedy at her wedding to the Greek tycoon Aristotle Onassis.
Valentino formed a professional and sentimental tandem with Giancarlo Giammetti, with whom he was partner for more than a decade, a duo with which he surprised the world and made ‘Valentino red’ reign, his most emblematic color, which he said he fell in love with during an opera at the Gran Teatro del Liceo in Barcelona.
By then her success was already a fact: in 1967 she won the Neiman Marcus Award, the “Oscar” of fashion, and personalities such as Empress Farah Diba, Queen Noor of Jordan, Nancy Reagan, Jane Fonda, Joan Collins, Sofia Loren or Ava Gardner, wore her designs.
In the eighties he expanded his firm, and became the first stylist who dared to launch a denim clothing line, a decade in which he also gained official recognition in his country: in 1985 he was named Grand Officer of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic and a year later, Knight of the Republic.
Valentino: His legacy
With 45 years of career behind him, since his first collection in Florence in 1962, Valentino announced his retirement in 2007.
Her last haute couture show took place on January 23, 2008 in Paris and concluded with a show of models dressed in red, her now more than emblematic fetish color.
In 2009 he was baptized as ‘the last emperor’ for his documentary film ‘Valentino: The Last Emperor’, in which he revealed his professional and private life, directed by Matt Tyrnauer and shot over the course of a year.
There were dozens of stars who wore Valentino: Jessica Lange and Julia Roberts, who chose his designs to go up to collect their Oscars. Or Maxima of Holland, Mette-Marit of Norway and Madeleine of Sweden, who entrusted him with their wedding dresses.
Her list of friends, clients and muses continues with names such as Nati Abascal, Rosario Nadal, Gwyneth Paltrow, Marie-Chantal Miller and Olivia Palermo.
Valentino’s empire, in love with Spain – where he received the Golden Needle Award in 2004 – will continue without its emperor, who never fully separated himself from fashion, as demonstrated by his 2016 collaboration with Maria Grazia Chiuri and Paolo Piccoli for the costumes for ‘La traviata’ at the Rome Opera, directed by Sofia Coppola.
Although without its creator, “Valentino red” will remain a symbol of elegance and glamour, reported Agencia EFE.
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