Italian fashion legend Valentino Garavani, whose elegant evening gowns were favoured for decades by some of the world’s most glamorous women, has passed away at the age of 93.
Garavani passed away at home in Rome, Italy, accompanied by his family, according to a statement released by his foundation on Monday.
The statement read, “Valentino Garavani passed away today at his Roman residence, surrounded by his loved ones.
“The lying-in-state will be held at PM23, Piazza Mignanelli 23, on Wednesday, January 21, and Thursday, January 22, from 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
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“The funeral will take place on Friday, January 23, at the Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri, Piazza della Repubblica 8, Rome, at 11:00 a.m.”
Valentino Garavani, better known by his first name, was born in the northern Italian town of Voghera in 1932. He trained at Parisian haute couture ateliers before establishing his own fashion house in Rome in 1959.
He gained notoriety early in his career for his red dresses, a deep scarlet hue that became his signature colour and was referred to as “Valentino red” by the industry.
In 1960, he met his long-time business partner—and, for 12 years, romantic partner—Giancarlo Giammetti, then a young architecture student. Together, they transformed Valentino SpA into a globally recognised luxury brand.
Actress Elizabeth Taylor, whom Valentino Garavani met while she was filming Cleopatra in Rome in the early 1960s, was one of his first well-known clientele.
Actresses Audrey Hepburn and Joan Collins, Queen Paola of Belgium, Begum Aga Khan, and Jacqueline Kennedy, who married Greek shipping tycoon Aristotle Onassis in 1968, were among the other early lovers and benefactors of his works.
Over the years, Valentino Garavani’s appeal persisted. He lived in New York for the most of the 1970s, interacting with renowned Vogue editor Diana Vreeland and artist Andy Warhol. He became a darling of the supermodels of the 1990s, such as Naomi Campbell and Claudia Schiffer.
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His designs were also popularly featured on the red carpet. At the Academy Awards alone, memorable Valentino creations included the heavily beaded gown worn by Jane Fonda in 1981 when she accepted the Best Actor Oscar on behalf of her father, Henry Fonda; the vintage black-and-white gown worn by Julia Roberts 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 in the years they wore Valentino.
In more recent years, stars such as Zendaya, Carey Mulligan and Gemma Chan have continued to wear Valentino to the Oscars, drawing widespread acclaim and reaffirming the brand’s enduring influence on global fashion.
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