Valentino (fashion designer)
Italian haute couture designer who founded the Valentino fashion house.
Valentino Clemente Ludovico Garavani (11 May 1932 – 19 January 2026), known simply as Valentino, was an Italian fashion designer. He founded the luxury fashion house Valentino S.p.A. in 1960 and led it as creative director until 2007. Known for his retro designs and work with celebrities, he is considered a major figure in haute couture.
Born in Voghera, Lombardy, Valentino developed an early interest in fashion, apprenticing with his aunt and a local designer while still in primary school. His mother named him after the silent film star Rudolph Valentino. With his parents' support, he moved to Paris at age 18, studying at the Beaux-Arts and the École de la Chambre Syndicale. He began his career as an apprentice at Jean Dessès at 19, also working briefly with Jacques Fath, Balenciaga, and Dior. While at Dessès, he assisted Countess Jacqueline de Ribes by sketching her dress ideas. After five years, he left following an incident during a holiday in Saint-Tropez, then joined Guy Laroche in 1956. He returned to Italy in 1959, working under Emilio Schuberth and Vincenzo Ferdinandi in Rome before opening his own house.
In 1960, Valentino opened a fashion house on Rome's Via Condotti, financed by his father and a business associate. His father described the grand premises as resembling a maison de haute couture; models were flown in from Paris for his debut show. He became known for red dresses in the shade called Rosso Valentino. On 31 July 1960, he met Giancarlo Giammetti at a café in Rome. Giammetti, an architecture student, gave Valentino a lift home; they met again by chance ten days later in Capri. Giammetti soon left university to become Valentino's business and life partner. At the time, the atelier's finances were shaky: within a year, Valentino's spending caused his father's associate to pull out, nearly bankrupting him. In 1961, Elizabeth Taylor, in Rome filming *Cleopatra*, wore a white haute couture column by Valentino to the premiere of *Spartacus*.
Valentino's international breakthrough came in 1962 in Florence, then Italy's fashion capital. In 1964, former first lady Jacqueline Kennedy saw a friend wearing a black organza two-piece by Valentino and contacted him. That September, Valentino was in New York for a charity ball at the Waldorf-Astoria. Kennedy could not attend, so Valentino sent a model, sales rep, and key pieces to her Fifth Avenue a
- born
- 11 May 1932
- died
- 19 January 2026
- field
- Fashion design
- nationality
- Italian
- known_for
- Founding Valentino S.p.A.; retro haute couture; celebrity collaborations; Rosso Valentino red
Lore & Background
Valentino was born in Voghera, Lombardy, and developed an interest in fashion while in primary school, apprenticing under his aunt Rosa and local designer Ernestina Salvadeo. He moved to Paris at age 18 to study at the Beaux-Arts de Paris and the École de la Chambre Syndicale, then began his career at Jean Dessès and Guy Laroche before returning to Rome to work under Emilio Schuberth and Vincenzo Ferdinandi. In 1960, he opened his own fashion house on Via Condotti in Rome, supported by his father and a business associate. His debut show was notably grand, with models flown in from Paris, and he soon became known for his red dresses in the vivid shade remembered as Rosso Valentino.
Valentino met Giancarlo Giammetti on 31 July 1960 at the Café de Paris in Rome; Giammetti abandoned his architecture studies to become Valentino's business and life partner. The atelier's financial situation was precarious, and within a year his father's associate withdrew, leaving Valentino close to bankruptcy. In 1961, Elizabeth Taylor chose his white haute couture column for the premiere of Spartacus. His international breakthrough came in 1962 in Florence, and in 1964 former first lady Jacqueline Kennedy became a devoted client after ordering six black-and-white dresses for her year of mourning. Valentino later designed the white gown she wore at her wedding to Aristotle Onassis. He was the first Italian designer to feature on Parisian haute couture catwalks.
Reader's Guide
Valentino's significance lies in his establishment of a globally recognized luxury fashion house and his role as a leading figure in haute couture. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, the Valentino brand became the best-selling Italian fashion export at one point. His work further established itself as a staple of celebrity culture during the 1990s. He sold the company to HdP Group for US$300 million in 1998, stepped down as creative director in 2007, and presented his final haute couture show in 2008. His legacy includes being the first Italian designer to show on Parisian haute couture catwalks and his signature Rosso Valentino red. He received numerous honors: Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic (1986), Knight of the Order of Merit for Labour (1996), Knight of the Legion of Honour, Commander of the Order of Arts and Letters, and the Medal of the City of Paris.
Did You Know?
- Valentino was named after the matinée idol Rudolph Valentino by his mother.
- He met his lifelong business and life partner Giancarlo Giammetti on 31 July 1960 at the Café de Paris in Rome.
- Elizabeth Taylor wore his white haute couture column to the premiere of Spartacus in 1961.
- He was the first Italian designer to feature on Parisian haute couture catwalks.
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