The iconic Italian designer Valentino Garavani passed away this Monday at the age of 93, according to the specialized magazine Elle. Retired from the catwalks since 2008, the creator leaves a legacy considered by the fashion world as immense, difficult to match and impossible to surpass. Valentino Clemente Ludovico Garavani was born on May 11, 1932, in Voghera, a town in the Lombardy region, northern Italy. From an early age, he showed a deep vocation for fashion, even helping his seamstress aunt when he was still a child. At the age of 17, he moved to Paris, where he trained at the École des Beaux-Arts and the Chambre Syndicale de la Couture Parisienne. During that period, he apprenticed with great masters of couture such as Cristóbal Balenciaga, Jean Dèsses, and Guy Laroche. In 1959, he returned to Rome and, with the support of his parents, opened his first studio on the emblematic Via Condotti, starting one of the most influential fashion houses of the 20th century. From 1960 he maintained a sentimental and professional relationship with Giancarlo Giammetti, who became his partner and co-founder of the Maison Valentino. Together they built a firm that conquered the international elite and emblematic figures such as Jacqueline Kennedy, whom Valentino dressed on multiple occasions, including her wedding to Aristotle Onassis.
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The designer also cultivated a close friendship with celebrities such as Elizabeth Taylor, Audrey Hepburn, Princess Diana of Wales, Naty Abascal and Gwyneth Paltrow, consolidating his constant presence on the most important red carpets in the world. His influence on fashion was expressed through luxurious, elegant, and timeless designs, and especially through the celebrated “Valentino red”, a tone that became a symbol of glamour, success, and sophistication in Hollywood and international haute couture. Valentino presented his first Haute Couture collection in 1962 at the Pitti Palace in Florence, a milestone that marked his definitive consecration. After his retirement, the creative direction of the firm passed through Alessandra Facchinetti, Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pierpaolo Piccioli. Since April 2024, the Valentino house has been under the creative direction of Alessandro Michele. With his death, fashion loses one of its great aesthetic architects, but his work and his name will remain synonymous with absolute elegance and artisanal excellence.
