The fashion world has lost its most dedicated servant of beauty. Valentino Garavani, the legendary Italian couturier who defined global glamour for over half a century, died peacefully on Monday at his residence in Rome. He was 93.
The announcement was made by the Fondazione Valentino Garavani e Giancarlo Giammetti, which noted that the maestro was surrounded by his loved ones. “Valentino Garavani was not only a constant guide and inspiration for all of us, but a true source of light, creativity, and vision,” the foundation stated.
The Italian designer, known by the mononym Valentino, founded his company in 1960 in Rome and quickly gained prominence for his romantic red dresses, a shade that was soon 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.
