Valentino: the Italian designer who broke into French haute couture with his elegant style and signature red
On the advent of the seasonal haute couture catwalk shows in Paris, the fashion industry mourns the loss of another iconic designer. Valentino Garavani has died at the age of 93. He was the creator of the House of Valentino and renowned as one of Italy’s greatest couturiers.
For Valentino, fashion was about creating beautiful dresses. He was famously quoted as saying: “I know what women want. They want to be beautiful.” However, his notions of “ideal beauty” were met with some controversy through his career, in particular his defence of skinny models on the runway in 2007.
After a childhood in Italy surrounded by and inspired by fashion, a young Valentino moved to Paris in 1950 to study at the prestigious École des Beaux Arts and Chambre Syndicale de la Couture Parisienne.
It was during this time that he apprenticed with couturiers, including Balenciaga and Guy Laroche. Haute couture, defined as “high dressmaking”, is distinct from ready-to-wear fashion. The couturier is a designer who uses bespoke techniques and makes one-off garments for individual customers. Couture garments are made by hand with specialised techniques and luxurious materials.
In 1959, following the founding of his design studio in Rome, Valentino designed his first ready-to-wear collection. This collection included strapless mid-length dresses in block colours and showcased what was to become known as the eponymous Valentino style. This was fashion that embodied elegance and sophistication with meticulous attention paid to accentuating the female silhouette through the use of sumptuous materials.
In 1960, Valentino opened the luxury fashion house, Valentino, with the support of his business and life partner Giancarlo Giammetti. It was his first couture show in 1962 at The Pitti Palace in Florence that was to launch Valentino onto the global fashion stage. Critics were astounded by his exquisite tailored dresses in sumptuous materials, including a parade of red dresses that were to become his signature look. The looks on show exuded elegance and showcased Valentino’s ability to inject a modern stance on classic styling..
The success of Valentino’s 1962 show was reinforced soon after when, French Vogue dedicated their front cover to an Italian designer for the first time. From then on Valentino became the designer to the stars, creating iconic looks for celebrities including Jackie Kennedy and Audrey Hepburn. Kennedy chose a Valentino gown to marry her second husband, Aristotle Onassis, in 1968.
In 1973, Valentino became the first Italian designer to be welcomed into the Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode (the Federation of Haute Couture and Fashion). This was unusual for an organisation which privileged couture as part of France’s heritage. Membership is restricted to those who demonstrate outstanding craftsmanship and creativity. The federation’s recognition of Valentino’s contribution to haute couture was a testament to the techniques that he gained in Paris as a student and apprentice of couture fashion.
Valentino became the first Italian to present haute couture on Paris runways. Undoubtedly, his success in Paris paved the way for Italy’s other legendary designers, Giorgio Armani and Gianni Versace, to show at haute couture week.
Over the years the Valentino brand has expanded to include menswear and accessories. In 1998, the label was sold to an Italian holding company for an estimated US$300 million (£223 million), with Valentino continuing as designer until his retirement in 2008.
Valentino will probably be most renowned for his iconic red dresses. Red was first featured in Valentino’s 1959 collection with the La Fiesta dress. The colour became a signature style throughout his career.
“Rosso Valentino” received a registered trademark in 1985 and has its own pantone made from a formula that blends 100% magenta, with 100% yellow and 10% black. When Valentino retired in 2008, his last catwalk show was held at the Musee Rodin in Paris, and for the finale the models all wore dresses in his signature red.
Today Valentino is under the creative direction of Alessandro Michele who, following news of the death of Valentino, reflected on him as “an almost mythical figure”.
The death of Valentino follows a few months after the loss of Giorgio Armani. Valentino and Armani were both creative visionaries who placed Italian fashion on the global stage. Their fashion houses were built through their hard graft and creative genius and they will be remembered simultaneously as a leading generation of designers from a time before fashion was significantly commercialised and run by conglomerates.
The Italian fashion industry has certainly taken a huge hit with the loss of two of its most legendary designers. However, both Valentino and Armani have left an undeniable mark on fashion, that will continue to define Italy’s dominance in the global fashion industry.
Reflecting on a life in fashion, Valentino’s approach to silhouette, fabric and his distinctive signature red colour, reveals a designer who leaves a huge mark on fashion globally too. To look back at his work is to see that he undoubtedly fulfilled his wish to make women beautiful.
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Naomi Braithwaite does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.