Valentino Garavani, an Italian fashion legend whose elegant evening gowns were worn for decades by some of the world’s most glamorous women, died at the age of 93. Italian fashion legend Valentino Garavani, whose elegant evening gowns were favoured for decades by some of the world’s most glamorous women, has died at the age of 93.
According to a statement issued by his foundation on Monday, Garavani died at his home in Rome, Italy, surrounded by family members.
The statement read: “Valentino Garavani died today at his Roman home, surrounded by his loved ones.
“The lying-in-state will take place at PM23, Piazza Mignanelli 23, on Wednesday, January 21, and Thursday, January 22, from 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
“The funeral will be held on Friday, January 23, at 11:00 a.m. in the Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri, Piazza della Repubblica 8, Rome.”
Valentino, born in the northern Italian town of Voghera in 1932, learnt his craft in Paris’ haute couture ateliers before founding his own fashion house in Rome in 1959. He is better known by his first name.
Early in his career, he rose to prominence for his red dresses, a rich scarlet shade that became his signature colour and was widely known in the industry as “Valentino red”.
In 1960, he met Giancarlo Giammetti, a young architecture student who would become his long-term business partner and romantic partner for the next 12 years. They worked together to make Valentino SpA an internationally recognised luxury brand.
Valentino’s first high-profile client was actress Elizabeth Taylor, whom he met while filming Cleopatra in Rome in the early 1960s.
Begum Aga Khan, Queen Paola of Belgium, actresses Audrey Hepburn and Joan Collins, and Jacqueline Kennedy, who married Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis in 1968, were among Valentino’s early admirers and patrons.
Valentino’s popularity has endured over the decades. He spent much of the 1970s in New York, where he socialised with artist Andy Warhol and legendary Vogue editor Diana Vreeland. In the 1990s, he became popular among supermodels such as Claudia Schiffer and Naomi Campbell.
His designs were also common on the red carpet. At the Academy Awards alone, memorable Valentino creations included Jane Fonda’s heavily beaded gown in 1981, when she accepted the Best Actor Oscar on behalf of her father, Henry Fonda; Julia Roberts’ vintage black-and-white gown in 2001; Jennifer Lopez’s pastel mint caftan-style gown in 2003; and Cate Blanchett’s sunshine-yellow gown in 2005. Roberts and Blanchett both won Oscars while wearing Valentino.
At the 2002 Academy Awards, Anne Hathaway walked the red carpet in an ornate Valentino gown, accompanied by the designer.
In recent years, stars like Zendaya, Carey Mulligan, and Gemma Chan have continued to wear Valentino to the Oscars, earning widespread praise and reinforcing the brand’s enduring influence on global fashion.
