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VALENTINO: FAREWELL TO THE MASTER OF ELEGANCE
FAREWELL TO THE MASTER OF ELEGANCE
By Laura Martínez
Valentino Clemente Ludovico Garavani, better known as Valentino, passed away on January 19, but his legacy will live on forever. His devotion to femininity and his tireless, lifelong pursuit of beauty defined his 93 years. We look back at the work of art that was his life and revisit some of his most iconic moments in the world of fashion.
“A woman dressed in red is never wrong,” the Italian couturier famously said. Red symbolized strength for him — his personal talisman. He particularly loved it for eveningwear — who could forget the strapless red gown worn by Jennifer Aniston at the 2013 Oscars? He even created his own shade, the legendary “Valentino Red”: a blend of carmine, purple and cadmium that accompanied the incomparable Liz Taylor at her eighth (and final) wedding to Larry Fortensky in 1991.
Valentino was the dream-maker behind countless Hollywood divas on the red carpet. From Sophia Loren — who would later break his heart by “betraying” him for Armani — to Jennifer Aniston, Gwyneth Paltrow, Cate Blanchett and Julia Roberts, the latter two famously winning their Academy Awards dressed in unforgettable gowns designed by the Italian master. His close relationships with women of such stature defined the elegance and class of his creations, sought after by princesses, heiresses, queens and icons around the world.
One of those international icons was Jackie Kennedy, who said “I do” and became Jackie Onassis wearing one of his designs. But it was designer Jean Desses — creator of Queen Sofía’s wedding dress — who first introduced Valentino to royal circles, leading him to one of his most devoted clients: Countess Jacqueline de Ribes, known as the “modern Nefertiti,” whose singular style he helped shape and refine.
The story of Valentino is stitched together with some of the most legendary names in 20th-century fashion. After his formative years in Paris — where he refined his vision alongside Guy Laroche — he closed his French chapter to begin the most important one: returning home. In 1959, Valentino reclaimed Italy with his own fashion house, making a symbolic move by opening his maison on Via Condotti in Rome. This was no ordinary street. Where Bulgari had set down roots decades earlier, the great names of Italian luxury would eventually follow — Armani, Prada, Gucci, Dolce & Gabbana and Louis Vuitton. Valentino didn’t arrive to follow history, but to write it, with Roman elegance and international ambition.
In contrast to the androgynous approach of Giorgio Armani — who softened tailoring and liberated silhouettes — Valentino chose to exalt femininity in its purest form. He elevated the female figure with ethereal fabrics, sculpting it like a classical goddess — Greek or Roman — and lifting it to an ideal of absolute sophistication. His language was neither the reinvented classicism of Karl Lagerfeld nor the bold, visionary theatricality of a young John Galliano, but another kind of greatness altogether: serene, timeless elegance, deeply rooted in Rome.
Valentino surrounded himself with — and drew inspiration from — women who understood fashion as an attitude. In Spain, his bond with Naty Abascal was pure creative chemistry. They met in New York in the mid-1960s and became natural allies from that moment on. Circling their universe were figures such as model Rosario Nadal and, of course, Queen Sofía, who found in his designs a form of quiet, powerful elegance.
The maestro retired just as he had lived his career: with elegance, control and impeccable staging. He sold his company in 1998,but remained at its helm until his definitive farewell a decade later, marked by a historic runway show in Paris, the city where he always understood fashion as an act of love. Shortly before, Rome honored him with a major retrospective at the Ara Pacis, a setting worthy of his legacy. In 2009, that goodbye was immortalized in ‘Valentino: The Last Emperor ‘, the documentary by Matt Tyrnauer, premiered in Venice, portraying both the designer and his inseparable partner Giancarlo Giammetti — collaborator, companion and accomplice in a life defined by beauty, luxury and savoir vivre.
After his retirement, the house passed through uncertain hands until, in 2024, it found new direction under Alessandro Michele. Roman, hedonistic and deeply narrative, his arrival confirms something Valentino always knew: some fashion houses don’t age, they simply change their voice. Now, we can trust that his eternal legacy is exactly where it belongs.
