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Valentino Garavani, the influential Italian designer known mononymously as Valentino, has passed away at the age of 93.The Fondazione Valentino Garavani e Giancarlo Giammetti announced its founder’s death on Instagram, sharing that Garavani “peacefully passed away today at his residence in Rome, surrounded by the love of his family.”Garavani was born in 1932 in Voghera, a town in the region of Lombardy. A longtime lover of fashion, he moved to Paris as a teenager to study at the Chambre Syndicale de la Couture Parisienne. Following his studies, Garavani worked an apprenticeship under Jean Dessès and a five-year stint at Guy Laroche’s atelier. In 1960, Garavani partnered with architect Giancarlo Giammetti to start his eponymous brand, Valentino. In his first ready-to-wear collection, the designer included a bright red dress known as the ‘Fiesta.’ From then on, every Valentino collection included a red dress in the shade that we now come to know as “Valentino Red.”
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His big break came during the 1962 season with a couture collection showcase in Florence that shot him to the top of the Italian haute couture industry. From there, Garavani was awarded the prestigious Neiman Marcus Award in 1967 for his infamous neutrals collection. That very same year, he designed Jackie Kennedy’s dress for her wedding with Aristotle Onassis. The pair went on to have a longstanding fashion friendship. After spending a majority of the ’70s in New York City, Garavani entered the following decade with a desire to expand his empire. He launched the first-ever Valentino children’s apparel line, as well as Oliver, a collection for young adults — both during the ’80s. Before the new millennium hit, the designer sold his company to Holding di Partecipazioni Industriali, but he remained as creative director and designer until 2008, when he released his final ready-to-wear collection.According to Garavani’s foundation, his lying in state will be held at PM23 in Piazza Mignanelli 23 on Wednesday, Jan. 21 and Thursday, Jan. 22 from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Garavani’s funeral will be held on Friday, Jan. 23 at the Basilica Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri, in Piazza della Repubblica 8 in Rome at 11 a.m.He will be deeply missed. Fashionista’s audience includes 1 million site visitors, 110,000 newsletter subscribers and 4.74 million social media followers. Want to know how to reach them? Learn more.
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