Valentino Garavani, the legendary Italian couturier and founder of the Valentino fashion house, passed away at age 93 yesterday. The Roman designer launched his label in 1960 and swiftly achieved global acclaim, dressing European royalty, American first ladies, and a multitude of Hollywood icons. Renowned for his opulent yet refined aesthetic, including gowns in his signature shade of “Valentino red”, he became synonymous with Italian glamour and timeless elegance. His eponymous house soon attracted devotees like Elizabeth Taylor and Sophia Loren, and when former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy wore a Valentino white lace gown for her 1968 wedding to Aristotle Onassis, it sealed his status as a couturier to high society.
Over a nearly five-decade career, Valentino amassed numerous accolades, from France’s Légion d’Honneur in 2006 to honors from the CFDA, reflecting his profound international influence. Supermodels like Naomi Campbell and Claudia Schiffer were often seen wearing his creations off the catwalk, a testament to his reverence in the modeling world. He cultivated close friendships with fashion luminaries; Vogue editor André Leon Talley, a dear friend, once praised Valentino’s work as “some of the finest ever.” Fellow designers, like Karl Lagerfeld, Giorgio Armani, and Miuccia Prada, revered him for his peerless craftsmanship and grace. Valentino’s passing marks the end of an era in haute couture, but the couture emperor’s legacy of glamour endures as a symbol of style whose influence will inspire generations to come.
