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For over forty years Valentino Garavani, known to
all simply as Valentino, has been one of the most prominent names in
fashion, creating some of the world's most elegant eveningwear and
classic designs.
Born in Voghera, Italy, in May 1932,
Valentino's childhood interests in fashion, painting and architecture,
coupled with an immense talent for drawing, prompted him to study
fashion design and French at the Accademia dell Arte in Milan. His
success led him to further studies at the Chambre Syndicale de la
Couture Parisienne, and it was there that Valentino flourished. Moving
to Paris to study fashion while still in his teens, Valentino also took
up dance lessons and developed a love of French theatre. While still a
student, he was awarded a prestigious prize for fashion design by the
International Wool Secretariat (a prize that was later won by both Yves
Saint Laurent and Karl Lagerfeld). This award led to his being noticed
by couturier Jean Desses, at whose fashion house he took up his first
design job in 1950.
Valentino assisted Desses for five years
before going to work for Guy Laroche, former chief illustrator at
Desses, where amongst other duties he assisted Princess Irene
Galitzine. By 1960, he was ready to establish himself as a designer in
his own right and launched his first collection and salon on the Via
Condotti in Rome. He was an immediate success, impressing in particular
Elizabeth Taylor, who was filming in Italy at the time and has remained
a fan ever since.
It was Valentino's desire to design clothes
that would celebrate the female form and accentuate a woman's
sensuality. "I don't think any man in the world wants to go out with a
woman dressed like a boy," he once said. The launch of Fedrico
Fellini's La Dolce Vita in 1960, the same year as Valentino launched
his first store, accelerated his success as women everywhere wished to
emulate the film's style and its star Anita Ekberg.
Emerging as
one of the leading couturiers of the Sixties, despite the fact that his
premises were in Rome, not Paris, Valentino's unique designs were
widely admired. He drew particular praise for his full-length skirts
(which flew in the face of the new wave of minis), his signature
'Valentino red' and his love for the simple contrast of black and
white. Success spawned a boutique in Paris and the launch of the
now-famous 'V' label. In 1967, he won the coveted Neiman Marcus Prize
and, in 1970, launched his first ready-to-wear line, with boutiques
following in Rome and New York.
Accolades and awards continued
to come in for Valentino including, in 1986, the highest decoration
possible in Italy, the Calvaliere di Gran Croce, presented by the
President Cossiga.
In 1991, to celebrate thirty years in
fashion, Valentino threw a three-day party, reported to cost $5
million. Among the 1,600 guests who enjoyed the extravagant finale
dinner at the Villa Medici were Nancy Kissinger, Gina Lollobrigida and
guest of honour Elizabeth Taylor. A retrospective exhibition, 'Thirty
Years of Magic', was also mounted in Valentino's honour, including some
previously unseen sketches. It was a fitting celebration for a man
whose career has seen him design countless Oscar gowns, as well as some
of the world's most expensive wedding dresses, for Elizabeth Taylor,
Jackie Onassis, Courteney Cox and Jennifer Lopez.
A red carpet
regular, Valentino has dressed some of the world's most glamorous
people, including Princess Margaret, Julia Roberts, and Claudia
Schiffer. His success has also provided him with a lifestyle to match
that of even his richest customers. Immaculately stylish, Valentino has
become known for his perfectly coiffed hair, permanently tanned skin
and a wardrobe of Ralph Lauren, Savile Row and, of course, his own
label. In fact, he is the perfect personification of his own label.
With homes in Knightsbridge, New York, Capri, as well as a villa on the
outskirts of Rome, a chalet in Gstaad, a 43-metre yacht and a
six-storey Roman Palazzo for an office, Valentino's circle of friends
is the glittering cognoscenti he dresses.
In 1998, Valentino and his business partner Giancarlo Giammetti sold their fashion empire for £211 million. |
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