Background
Mr. Garavani was born in Voghera, Lombardia, Italy, on May 11, 1932. He is a son of Mauro Garavani and Teresa de Biaggi.
École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts.
School Of Chambre Syndicale De La Couture Parisienne.
Famous guests attend the wedding ceremony of Mexican soccer player Rafael Medina and Laura Vecino at the Tavera Palace.
Fashion designer Valentino attends the opening night celebration of the New York City Ballet at David H. Koch Theater, Lincoln Center on November 25, 2008.
Giancarlo Giammetti, Gwyneth Paltrow and Valentino Garavani attend the Valentinos 'Mirabilia Romae' haute couture collection fall-winter 2015 2016 at Piazza Mignanelli on July 9, 2015 in Rome, Italy.
Honorary President of the Valentino Fashion House, Giancarlo Giammetti, and Valentino attend the Valentino show as part of the Paris Fashion Week Womenswear Fall-Winter 2014-2015 on March 4, 2014 in Paris, France.
Valentino Garavani, 1968.
Young Valentino Garavani.
Jennifer Creel, designer Valentino Garavani and Giancarlo Giammetti attend a book signing for Giancarlo Giammetti's Autobiography 'Private Giancarlo Giammetti,' The Plaza Hotel on November 5, 2013, New York.
(The name Valentino has been synonymous with high fashion ...)
The name Valentino has been synonymous with high fashion for almost fifty years. Based in Rome, Valentino is only one of two couture houses recognized by the French government outside of Paris. His exquisite designs are coveted and worn by young Hollywood and high society the world over. On the occasion of his last couture collection, presented in Paris in the spring of 2008, this landmark book celebrates forty-five years of Valentino’s remarkable career.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0847831728/?tag=2022091-20
2008
Mr. Garavani was born in Voghera, Lombardia, Italy, on May 11, 1932. He is a son of Mauro Garavani and Teresa de Biaggi.
He became interested in fashion while in primary school in his native Voghera, Lombardy, northern Italy, when he apprenticed under his aunt Rosa and local designer Ernestina Salvadeo, an aunt of noted artist Aldo Giorgini. Valentino then moved to Paris to pursue this interest with the help of his mother and his father. There he studied at the École des Beaux-Arts and at the Chambre Syndicale de la Couture Parisienne.
Mr. Garavani's first choice for an apprenticeship, in Paris, was Jacques Fath, then Balenciaga. He found an apprenticeship with Jean Dessès where he helped Countess Jacqueline de Ribes sketch her dress ideas. He then joined Guy Laroche for two years. At Jean Dessès, Valentino Garavani sketched furiously, between helping with window dressing and greeting clients for the daily 2:30 pm private showings. Most of his early sketches were lost.
After five years, he left Jean Dessès over an incident about prolonging a vacation in Saint-Tropez that still makes him uncomfortable today. Rescued by his friend Guy Laroche, he joined his "tiny, tiny" fashion house. After discussions with his parents, he decided to return to Italy and set up in Rome in 1959.
Valentino Garavani left Paris and opened a fashion house in Rome on the posh Via Condotti with the backing of his father and an associate of his. More than an atelier, the premises resembled a real "maison de couture," it being very much along the lines of what Mr. Garavani had seen in Paris: everything was very grand and models flew in from Paris for his first show. He became known for his red dresses, in the bright shade that became known in the fashion industry as "Valentino red".
In 1960 he met Giancarlo Giammetti who became Valentino Garavani's long-standing business partner. In 1962 he showed a couture collection at the Pitti Palace in Florence for the first time to critical acclaim. This was seen as his breakthrough and he soon became the go-to for dressing the glitterati.
Having established himself as the top designer in Italian haute couture, in 1967 he created his infamous 'no-colour collection' for which he bucked the trend for decadent colour palettes, opting instead for beige, white, and ivory hues. It was this collection that saw the ubiquitous 'V' become his trademark. The same year, he designed the dress that Jackie Kennedy wore to marry Aristotle Onassis. Jackie O, as she became known, was a loyal customer and friend to Valentino Garavani.
1969 saw the designer open his first ready-to-wear shops in Milan and Rome. Throughout the 1970s he spent considerable time in New York City, where his presence was embraced by society personalities such as Vogue's editor-in-chief Diana Vreeland and the art icon Andy Warhol.
During the 1980s he launched the first Valentino childrenswear line as well as a collection of clothing for young adults which he named Olivier after his pet pug. In 1989 he opened the Academie Valentino in Rome, a cultural centre to house art exhibitions and cultural activities. The next year, encouraged by their friend Elizabeth Taylor, Valentino Garavani and Giancarlo Giammetti created L.I.F.E., an association for the support of AIDS-related patients, which benefits from the activities of the Accademia Valentino.
1998 saw the designer sell his company to Holding di Partecipazioni Industriali (HdP) for $300 million (£193,445,000). In 2002, HdP sold Valentino to luxury group Marzotto. Throughout both transactions Valentino Garavani stayed on as designer, remaining a hugely influential figure. On 4 September 2007, he announced that he would retire fully in January 2008 from the world stage after his last haute couture show in Paris. He delivered his last women's ready-to-wear show in Paris on 4 October. His last haute couture show was presented in Paris at the Musée Rodin on 23 January 2008.
Maison Valentino is controlled since 2012 by Mayhoola for Investments S.P.C., a holding company sustained by a group of private investors from Qatar. It is present in over 90 countries through 160 Valentino Garavani directly-operated boutiques and over 1300 points of sale.
Despite having retired from designing for the Valentino label, the renowned designer still works on special commissions. He designed actress Anne Hathaway's wedding dress in late 2012 and, more recently, the bridal gown worn by Princess Madeleine of Sweden for her royal nuptials in June 2013.
(The name Valentino has been synonymous with high fashion ...)
2008Valentino Red
(His designs in red are known as “Valentino Red”.)
A salmon crêpe dress worn by Jacqueline Kennedy on her trip to Cambodia
1967A sketch by Valentino - spring/summer collection
1959A haute couture evening dress from the F/W collection
1996A dress worn by Audrey Hepburn at The Proust Bal at Château de Ferrières
1971Kate Middleton Dress
Valentino Garavani sketch
1989Valentino Garavani sketches
1986A collection of black dresses by Valentino at the Museo Ara Pacis in Rome
Quotations:
"I love my beauty. It's not my fault."
"I am always locked in my design studio."
"I have my favourite fashion decade, yes, yes, yes: '60s. It was a sort of little revolution; the clothes were amazing but not too exaggerated."
"Even as a young boy, my passion was to design, and I have been very lucky to be able to do what I have loved all my life. There can be few greater gifts than that."
"Only wear clothes that make you feel alive."
"I am especially grateful that I have been able to keep my own style over the decades, in spite of the many changes that have taken place in the world of fashion and in its business."
"The great fights with your strongest rivals are always the biggest motivation. When you win easily it's not the same taste."
"An evening dress that reveals a woman's ankles while walking is the most disgusting thing I have ever seen."
Valentino Garavani was first in relationship with Marilu Tolo. She was an actress in Italian movies. She was the only woman with whom he fell in love. But their relationship was for very short time. Valentino Garavani was later in relationship with Giancarlo Giammetti. They were together for almost 12 years. None of them disclosed about their relationship to anyone. Only their close friends were aware about their intimacy. They did not even discuss with their mothers who lived with them. Mr. Giammetti is the President of Valentino Fashion House.
Mr. Garavani’s current boyfriend is Bruce Hoeksema. Bruce Hoeksema is a well known designer in American jewels and bags. They met each other in early 1980s and are still in relationship with each other.