Effective immediately 💔 Valentino Garavani, the legendary Italian fashion designer who famously dressed stars and socialites alike over his 43-year career, is dead at the age of 93. He died peacefully at home in Rome, with family and friends nearby, including his partner Marta. His passing marks the end of a remarkable era in fashion. For more than thirty years, it was his imagination and foresight that pushed the entire industry forward.
Valentino Garavani was born in 1932 in Voghera, a town in Italy’s wealthy Lombardy region. He honed those skills while working in Paris before returning to his native Italy to start his own fashion house. In the early 1960s, with the support of his business and personal partner Giancarlo Giammetti, he launched Valentino, quickly gaining a reputation for his elegant and glamorous designs.
Throughout his illustrious life, Garavani grew his brand beyond just haute couture into fragrances and luxe accessories. His works captivated some of the most important figures the world had ever known. Perhaps most famously, when former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy married Aristotle Onassis in 1968, he created a luminous wedding gown. This milestone was a perfect example of his reputation as a designer to the stars.
Garavani was the recipient of many awards during his life, including the highest honor in American fashion, the Neiman Marcus Fashion Award in 1967. In 1986, the Italian government recognized him with the Cavaliere di Gran Croce for his remarkable contributions to Italian society. Ten years later he was awarded the Cavaliere del Lavoro, an award for truly exceptional entrepreneurship.
In a reflection of his artistic philosophy, Garavani once stated, “As a creator, beauty is the most important. Since I was a child I loved the way a dress looks, I admired a great face, a lovely body.” His commitment to aesthetic echoed in every creation he touched, inspiring generations of fashion lovers.
His commitment to aesthetics extended beyond clothing. “I enjoy the beauty in a woman, in a man, in a child, in a painting,” he noted. Beautiful things are of huge importance and that’s what makes life so important. This impulse to cultivate beauty is something I’ve been practicing since I was a little girl.
Valentino will not return until late on Tuesday, and will lay in state on Wednesday, with a funeral mass set for Friday. The fashion world will miss him dearly. So many people have a story about him — his groundbreaking designs, yes, but his unstoppable passion for beauty, elegance and aesthetic goodness.
