Valentino Garavani, Fashion Designer and Founder of Valentino Brand, Dies at 93

Valentino Garavani, the fashion designer and mogul behind the Valentino brand, died on Monday. He was 93.

His foundation announced the news on social media, writing: “Valentino Garavani passed away today at his Roman residence, surrounded by his loved ones.”

The Italian designer, known by the mononym Valentino, founded his company in 1960 in Rome alongside business partner Giancarlo Giammetti and quickly gained prominence for his romantic poppy-colored dresses, a shade that was coined “Valentino red.” With designs mixing timeless elegance and bold high-fashion, the brand soon caught the eye of several high-profile women — including Elizabeth Taylor, who donned a Valentino gown at the premiere of 1960’s “Spartacus,” and First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy, who ordered six of his couture dresses to wear in mourning following the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in 1963. Garavani then designed Kennedy’s wedding look when she married Aristotle Onassis in 1968, with the two-piece’s high neck, lace top and bold above-the-knee cut solidifying both her and Garavani as style icons.

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As the brand grew in the ’70s and ’80s, Garavani gained further recognition in Hollywood as the favorite designer of “Dynasty” star Joan Collins, who sported the designer on red carpets and at awards shows. Over the years, Valentino has also designed custom wedding dresses for Taylor, Anne Hathaway, Jennifer Lopez, Gwyneth Paltrow, Courteney Cox and Nicola Peltz Beckham, and continues to be a red-carpet favorite of stars like Julia Roberts, Cate Blanchett, Florence Pugh, Zendaya, Dakota Johnson and Elle Fanning.

Garavani had a relationship with cinema beyond dressing celebrities, appearing as himself in the beloved 2006 film “The Devil Wears Prada” alongside Hathaway and Meryl Streep. Following his retirement in January 2008, a feature-length documentary about his career and life, titled “Valentino: The Last Emperor,” premiered at Venice Film Festival.

“This was the best thing, for me to create dresses,” Garavani said in the documentary. “I am a disaster at everything else.”