Valentino Garavani turned 91 in May; he founded the Italian fashion house Valentino, which has become one of the main brands in the history of fashion and turned into an empire over the 63 years of its existence.
The person who has dressed many recognized style icons, from Jackie Kennedy and Princess Diana to Gwyneth Paltrow and Meryl Streep, has himself become a style icon in a fashion history.
Valentino Garavani’s motto was “No man wants to see a woman dressed like a boy next to him!”
Let’s remember the best of the history of his art.
In 1960, Federico Fellini’s film La Dolce Vita was released. The magnificent scene of Anita Ekberg’s night swim in a black Valentino dress in the Trevi Fountain will forever stay in cinema history. Less than a year after the premiere, there became plenty of clients at Valentino’s studio on Via dei Condotti.
In 1962, at Florence’s Palazzo Pitti, Valentino presented the Gotha collection, the star of which was the famous red dress. Since that day, the designer often repeated that red is the impersonation of femininity for him. Valentino Red color, the so-called “Valentino rosso” is the main color for dresses created by the designer, except black dress for Jackie Kennedy, which she wore on the anniversary of her husband’s death, and white for her wedding.
In 1968, Valentino, for the first time in the history of modern fashion, uses a logo as a decorative element and creates his most famous “White Collection” – with embroidery on dresses in the shape of the letter V. Jacqueline Kennedy chose one of the dresses from Collezione Bianca for her wedding with Aristotle Onassis.
Anjelica Huston worked as a model in the 70s and became the face of several Valentino Haute Couture advertising campaigns.
The photo by Gian Paolo Barbieri, where she posed in a yellow floral dress, became one of the designer’s favorites.
The friendship between Valentino and Elizabeth Taylor began at the very beginning of the designer’s career.
Garavani has dressed the actress many times, but the dress that Elizabeth chose for the premiere of the film “Spartacus” is considered truly iconic. According to the legend, the Dior outfit was already waiting in the wings, but the star gave Valentino a chance and he was supposed to surprise her. The young fashion designer succeeded, and Taylor appeared in public in a flowing Grecian-style maxi-dress, lushily decorated with feathers.
After divorce with Prince Charles, Princess Diana decided to abandon strict dress code rules. Finally, she could allow herself to go beyond the rules! Valentino Garavani’s outfit was helpful for this. In 1992, she appeared in a piquant burgundy midi. The velvet corset bodice contrasted with the translucent hem, creating a sexy look.
Sophia Loren, to be precise Sofia Villani Scicolone, became a loyal customer of Signor Valentino even before she took on the famous stage name.
Therefore, it was his dress that in 1991 she wore, when she went up on the stage to get her second Oscar.
In 1995, Claudia Schiffer was closing the Valentino couture collection show wearing a silk and organza wedding dress. After that, she managed to become the face of several advertising campaigns for the fashion house. Therefore, it was no surprise that in 2002 she ordered a dress from him for her own wedding. “Only one man could make her dress,” they wrote then.
Having completed his work at the fashion house, Valentino continues to create designs for special clients and special occasions.
So, in 2011, Natalia Vodianova welcomed guests of the charity Love Ball ball, wearing a dress from Garavani.
