Italian designer Valentino Garavani, who dominated 20th-century fashion with the distinctive red hue known as "Valentino red," died on the 19th (local time) at his home in Rome. He was 93. The master who reigned for nearly half a century from the 1960s as the "emperor of haute couture" captivated icons of the era such as Jacqueline Kennedy and Elizabeth Taylor and has faded into history.
The Valentino Garavani and Giancarlo Giammetti Foundation said in an official statement that "Valentino passed away peacefully at his home in Rome, surrounded by the love of his family." The foundation paid tribute, saying, "He was a light and an inspiration to us all, and a true source of creativity and vision."
Born in 1932 in Voghera in northern Italy, Valentino showed an unusual interest in fashion from childhood. At 17, he moved to Paris, France, and learned the craft as an apprentice under leading designers of the day including Guy Laroche. He returned to Rome in 1959 and founded a fashion house under his own name. In 1960, the following year, he met Giancarlo Giammetti, then an architecture student, and the business took off. Giammetti, Valentino's partner and lifelong business collaborator, oversaw the brand's management, creating an environment in which Valentino could focus solely on design.
Valentino earned renown for designs that elegantly revealed the female form. In particular, his bold yet dignified red dresses became his signature. In his lifetime he maintained, "I know what women want. They want to be beautiful." The Financial Times (FT) noted, "Valentino rejected messy, worn-looking styles and inscrutable deconstructionist fashion," adding, "His goal was to make clothes that, when a woman appeared somewhere, made people exclaim, 'She looks absolutely fantastic.'"
His creations were favored by figures who defined modern history. A representative example is the cream lace dress worn by Jacqueline Kennedy, wife of former U.S. President John F. Kennedy, when she remarried Greek shipping tycoon Aristotle Onassis in 1968. Hollywood star Elizabeth Taylor chose a Valentino look for the 1960 premiere of the film "Spartacus," propelling him to international stardom. The black vintage dress worn by Julia Roberts when she won best actress at the 2001 Academy Awards was also a Valentino piece, stirring a major reaction in the fashion world at the time. Even the outfit worn by Farah Diba, the last empress of Iran, when she went into exile in 1979 was designed by Valentino.
Valentino sold his company in 1998 to Italian holding company HdP for about $300 million (about 400 billion won at the exchange rate at the time). He remained creative director but retired from the field after a farewell fashion show in 2007. Even after retiring, he continued activities such as establishing a foundation with Giammetti in 2016, but in recent years did not appear in public due to deteriorating health.
Italy's political and fashion circles expressed condolences in unison. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said, "Valentino was a symbol and master of Italian elegance," adding, "We have lost a legend, but his legacy will remain forever." The funeral will be held on the 23rd at the Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli in Rome. A public condolence space will be set up at Piazza Mignanelli in Rome for two days starting on the 21st.