Valentino Garavani, the fashion designer and mogul behind the Valentino brand, died on Monday. He was 93.
His foundation announced the news on social media, writing: “Valentino Garavani passed away today at his Roman residence, surrounded by his loved ones.”
The Italian designer, known by the mononym Valentino, was born in Voghera, Italy, on May 11, 1932. After attending fashion school in Paris, he founded his company in 1960 in Rome alongside business partner Giancarlo Giammetti. He quickly gained prominence for his romantic, poppy-colored dresses, a shade that was coined “Valentino red.” With designs mixing timeless elegance and bold high-fashion, the brand soon caught the eye of several high-profile women — including Elizabeth Taylor, who donned a Valentino gown at the premiere of 1960’s “Spartacus,” and First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy, who ordered six of his couture dresses to wear in mourning following the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in 1963. Garavani then designed Kennedy’s wedding look when she married Aristotle Onassis in 1968, with the two-piece’s high neck, lace top and bold above-the-knee cut solidifying both her and Garavani as style icons.
As the brand grew in the ’70s and ’80s, Garavani gained further recognition in Hollywood as the favorite designer of “Dynasty” star Joan Collins, who sported the designer on red carpets and at awards shows. Over the years, Valentino has also designed custom wedding dresses for Taylor, Anne Hathaway, Jennifer Lopez, Gwyneth Paltrow, Courteney Cox and Nicola Peltz Beckham, and continues to be a red-carpet favorite of stars like Julia Roberts, Cate Blanchett, Florence Pugh, Zendaya, Dakota Johnson and Elle Fanning.
Paltrow took to Instagram Monday morning to remember the prolific designer.
“I was so lucky to know and love Valentino-to know the real man, in private,” she wrote. “The man who was in love with beauty, his family, his muses, his friends. His dogs, his gardens, and a good Hollywood story. I loved him so much. I loved how he always pestered me to ‘at least wear a little mascara’ when I came to dinner. I loved his naughty laugh.”
Colman Domingo also paid tribute to Valentino on Instagram, writing, “Thank you Mr. Valentino for inspiring so many to be beautiful. To quote: ‘There are only three things I can do – make a dress, decorate a house, and entertain people.’ This man lived a life to make beautiful things and to make us all feel like we are living in a fantasy that becomes ones reality.”
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Cindy Crawford wrote in her social media remembrance of Garavani, “I’m heartbroken to hear of Valentino Garavani’s passing. He was a true master of his craft, and I will always be grateful for the years I had the privilege of working closely with him.”
Garavani had a relationship with cinema beyond dressing celebrities, appearing as himself in the beloved 2006 film “The Devil Wears Prada” alongside Hathaway and Meryl Streep. Following his retirement in January 2008, a feature-length documentary about his career and life, titled “Valentino: The Last Emperor,” premiered at the Venice Film Festival.
“This was the best thing, for me to create dresses,” Garavani said in the documentary. “I am a disaster at everything else.”
From Variety US