The Italian designer who gave his name to a color: the Valentino red, such as Ferrari. Valentino Garavani is "The Last Emperor", as he was defined in an American documentary, about his life. Determined and passionate, like his color, he was always supported by his family, who never doubted his talent. And with good reason, given his extraordinary career.
Valentino Garavani
If you think of an Italian designer to mention, one of the first names that will come to your mind is Valentino. We have heard of him since the days of the dolce vita, when all the stars of the international jet set looked to Rome. Born in Voghera in 1932, he immediately studied with the best until the last important recognition that the European Parliament bestowed on him in 2018, appointing him Man of Fashion and Peace. It was 91, there was the Gulf War, when he had designed a long white dress with the inscription PACE in 14 languages. That dress was an expression of Valentino's art in those dark moments.
Valentino loves women
His dream has one characteristic: he loves to create clothes for women. "In all the rest they are a real disaster ", as he himself says. His clothes are designed for them. He loves them. Ever since he designed the wedding dress for Jacqueline Bouvier, widow Kennedy on the occasion of her second marriage with Onassis. She, in those years, was the most prominent woman in the world, he Aristotle Onassis, a Greek tycoon with a stormy life. Jackie had impeccable taste and chose Valentino to design the dress that he would have all eyes on him. Her wedding dress will dictate the style of the second yes for generations. For her, he revolutionized the way to go to the altar, he chose white but fading it towards ivory. Unlike the first time, the dress was high-necked but short, letting the 60s break through without affecting the taste. Other famous brides followed suit.
His brides
We cannot fail to mention other brides who have contributed to making our Valentine even more famous. Jennifer Lopez, Lavinia Borromeo, Claudia Shiffer, Clotilde Courau, Pamela Anderson, Princess Maxima of Holland, Marie-Chantal of Greece. There are many celebrities, actresses, princesses and models who have chosen the genius and refinement of Italian high fashion. What distinguishes a true fashion designer from others? What determines the choice of women of the caliber of Jennifer Lopez? It probably is love for the female figure, which Valentino always expresses through his clothes.
The beginnings and private life
He was born on 11 May 1932, in the sign of taurus, therefore stubborn, stubborn and passionate. Since he was a boy, he wanted to study fashion and with the full support of his parents he enrolled in the figurinism institute of fashion Santa Marta in Milan, where he attended a course to become a stylist. The dream becomes even bigger and he asks to be able to move to Paris to improve and study. Parents do not object to this request either and indeed, they encourage him to enroll in the prestigious Chambre syndacal de la Haute Couture parisienne. It is the turning point, she studies French, works for Guy Laroche, then decides, always with the support of the family, that her destiny is to open her own boutique. It opens in 1959 in Via Condotti in Rome.
His Alter Ego: Giancarlo Giammetti
Always in those years, the sentimental and working partnership with a young architecture student, Giancarlo Giammetti, was born. It will be he who will enter the company after Garavani's father, who will make a contribution that will determine the final push to bring Valentino into the Olympus of fashion. The real baptism is in 1962, when Valentino has the opportunity to show at Palazzo Pitti. The last space proposed by the Marquis Giorgini is the last day, at the last hour: Take or leave.
The parade will be a triumph
Giancarlo Giammetti recalls in an interview: “We spent the night writing orders”. It is to this man, to whom Valentino is deeply attached, that he dedicates a public acknowledgment of devotion and affection. "Without Monsieur Giammetti, all this would not have been possible", says Valentino, speaking of the Maison, which today is a multinational. In fact, no one has been closer to the Italian designer in his professional and private life than Giancarlo Giammetti.
International Prizes
The star of the Maison shone high right from the start. We mention only some of the greatest awards obtained by the designer, President Pertini appoints him Grand Officer of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic, a few years later he will also be nominated Knight of the Grand Cross by the President Cossiga. In America they are literally in love with him. Los Angeles, New York and Washington open their doors to him. Already in 1967 he was awarded two prizes: the Neiman Marcus Award of Dallas, equivalent to the'Oscar of Fashion, and the Palm Beach Martha Award. In 2005 it was awarded to him the Legion of Honor, the highest honor attributed by the French republic, which is rarely given to non-French characters.
Anyway Valentino
In 2017 Valentino announces his retirement from the fashion world. He declares, with his usual grace and elegance: "It's the perfect time to say goodbye ”. Today the brand is owned by the finance company Mayhoola for Investments from Qatar. The mark left by the master is in any case indelible. Never a crack was seen in the image of this extraordinary man, except when he signed the sale of the Maison: taken by the cameras, everyone could see, with a certain dismay, the designer's tears as he separated from his creation. The human face ofLast Emperor.
