On the day of the designer’s birth, a story of his style, of red
Valentino and the legacy of Made in Italy in international fashion
May 11th marks the birth of Valentino Garavani, the designer who contributed to
make Italian haute couture an international reference. Italian Traditions retraces its history
history through the elements that built its identity.
Valentino Clemente Ludovico Garavani was born in Voghera in 1932. After the first studies in
Italy moves to Paris, where he attends the Chambre Syndicale de la Couture Parisienne
and works in the ateliers of Jean Dessès and Guy Laroche. In France he comes into contact with the penalty
of high fashion: the cut, the construction of the dress, the care of the tests, the balance of the
proportions. But it is in Rome that his style takes shape. In the years of the Dolce Vita, between cinema
international and worldly, the capital offers the ideal context to affirm an elegance
capable of combining tailoring, theatricality and refinement.
In 1959 he opened his atelier in Via Condotti. The following year the meeting with Giancarlo
Giammetti proves decisive in the house’s growth: Garavani follows the management
creative, while Giammetti consolidates its organizational structure and development abroad.
Officially founded in Rome in 1960, the fashion house quickly established itself as a
of the most authoritative names in Italian high fashion.
The international leap came in 1962, at the Sala Bianca of Palazzo Pitti, a catwalk at the time
followed by buyers and foreign press. Florentine debut is welcomed with enthusiasm
from customers and critics, bringing Valentino to the attention of leading industry observers and
giving the brand new visibility outside Italy’s borders.
His style is not born from breaking, but from controlling form. In evening dresses, in
suits, in cocktail pieces and haute couture creations works on clean lines, proportions
rigorous, lace, embroidery, bows and precious fabrics. He doesn’t chase the most radical experiments:
prefers a tailoring shop capable of supporting even the most elaborate clothes without weighing them down. The
luxury, in his vision, does not coincide with ostentation, but with the precision of the cut, the
quality of materials and the balance of sartorial construction.
The most famous sign remains Valentino red. The designer’s passion for this dye is
traced back to a youthful memory: a woman in a red velvet dress seen at the Opera di
Barcelona, capable of immediately standing out in the theatre. From that image a
color destined to become the signature of the fashion house, already present in 1959 with Fiesta, the
first Valentino creation in that shade. More than a decorative element, it becomes for
Garavani a tool to give strength to the figure and put the dress at the center of the scene.
Alongside red, white also takes on a central role in his creative journey. The
1968 White Collection, played on ivory, cream and optical white, marked a clear choice
compared to the brighter colours of the period and helped establish the graphic identity of the house,
also through the famous “V”. From that collection Jacqueline Kennedy chose the complete
for her marriage to Aristotle Onassis, celebrated on 20 October 1968 on the Greek island of
Skorpios: High-neck lace top and pleated knee-length skirt, a distant solution
with a traditional wedding dress and destined to become one of the most famous images in history
of the designer.
Throughout his career, Valentino’s name is linked to actresses, princesses and protagonists
of international high society. Elizabeth Taylor, Audrey Hepburn, Sophia Loren and Diana
Spencer wears his creations on occasions that take the brand far beyond the world
of fashion. In the 2000s, the designer remained a constant presence on red carpets
international: in 2001 Julia Roberts accepted the Oscar for Erin Brockovich in a white dress and
black archive, while in 2005 Cate Blanchett chose one of her creations for the ceremony
of the Academy Awards. Different episodes, united by the same idea: clothes designed for
remain recognizable even after years.
The Valentino Garavani Foundation also contributes to keeping its heritage alive and
Giancarlo Giammetti, born in 2016 with a philanthropic, cultural and support mission to the
talent. In Piazza Mignanelli 23, in Rome, PM23 fits into this path as a space
dedicated to exhibitions, installations and initiatives related to contemporary art, fashion and
creative languages. Not a museum dedicated to the fashion house, but a place open to dialogue between
different disciplines, in the heart of the city that has accompanied the history of the designer.
In September 2007, after the celebrations for the 45th anniversary of his career and the major retrospective at
Ara Pacis Museum: Garavani announces his retirement; he steps down as director the following year
creative of the house. Its release marks the end of a specific season of fashion: that
of the couturier-founders capable of identifying their name with a whole idea of style,
from the dress to the public image of the house. After his disappearance, which occurred on January 19
2026, this legacy appears even more evident. Valentino Garavani transformed the high
fashion in an Italian story recognizable everywhere, Roman in its roots, international in
reach, faithful to an idea of elegance capable of crossing different eras and generations.