Farewell, Valentino, designer to the stars

VALENTINO Garavani, the mononymously known Italian couturier who dressed people of status from Hollywood and royalty, died this week at his house in Rome.

- ETHAN BECK

FASHION icon Valentino Garavani's passing leaves a significant void in the world of haute couture. | File

(File)

He was 93.His death was confirmed in a statement by the Fondazione Valentino Garavani e Giancarlo Giammetti.

Garavani opened Valentino in Rome in 1960, with the backing of his father. From then until 2008, he was its creative director, defining Italian style with his signature colour (red) and details (such as bows and embroidery) while avoiding trends and self-important artistry.

He remained in the public eye by crafting pieces for celebrities, such as US First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy, actresses Elizabeth Taylor, Joan Collins, Julia Roberts and Cate Blanchett, and Britain's Princess Diana, while maintaining friendships with an endless number of them.

"As a creator, beauty is the most important," Garavani said in a 2011 interview with the Talks. "Since I was a child I loved the way a dress looks, I admired a great face, a lovely body. I enjoy the beauty in a woman, in a man, in a child, in a painting."

Along with his business partner, Giancarlo Giammetti, Garavani helped Italian fashion connect with Paris, setting the stage for other brands like Versace and Armani. His relentless search for beauty intertwined with his stature in culture, as he became known to even the most unstylish. In a 2008 documentary of the same name, he was christened "the last emperor".

"I still am like I was many, many years ago, the same person. I love to create clothes, I love beautiful things, I love beautiful houses, I love entertaining," Garavani said. "If they want to call me an icon, okay, then I am an icon."

JACQUELINE Kennedy wore a Valentino mint green, one-shoulder, sari-style gown to attend a dinner in her honour in Phnom Penh, Cambodia in 1967. | AFP