„I am proud to have been myself my entire career, never listening to all the input, suggestions, critics.” – these are the words of Valentino, Italian style pioneer and designer of generations. How will the master’s departure affect the fashion world? Will faith in beauty remain a symbol of the present day?
Italian fashion designer Valentino Clemente Ludovico Garavani, founder of the Valentino fashion house, died on January 19, 2026, in Rome at the age of 93. But what does the name Valentino really mean? Valentino is class and elegance. Precision, creativity, discipline, subtlety, sensuality, courage, consistency, and finally… a love of beauty. With the passing of Valentino and other designers of his stature, does the love of beauty also pass away? Undoubtedly, Valentino’s death leaves many questions about the quality and future of the fashion world. In addition to questions, it also poses a considerable challenge to his successors. In an interview with Giammetti, Valentino’s business partner and long-time collaborator, we read about the satisfying collaboration with Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pierpaolo Piccioli, who “apart from being really great designers, are able to preserve and present Valentino’s style in a fresh and contemporary way, while still respecting the brand’s past and tradition.” Will the next designers succumb to the pace of the times? True art and fashion require dedication, patience, precision, and absolute attention to every detail, no matter how small. Valentino used to say that “true luxury is time, hands, and patience.”
More than fifty years have passed since Valentino opened his first atelier on Via Condotti (Rome, 1959). Five decades of consistent, often very difficult, solitary, but always creative work, which contributed to the creation of one of the largest fashion brands in the world. A brand whose creations have gone down in fashion history forever. Valentino was a designer who did not succumb to trends, the demands of the times, or people’s expectations – he knew exactly where he was going and fulfilled his calling in global style until his last days. In Valentino style. The designer’s friends often joked that he was born with a silk scarf tied around his neck. Actress Gwyneth Paltrow, talking about her meetings with Valentino, says that she felt as if she were visiting a king. Every detail, every aspect of the decor and the food was of the highest standard. Quality, elegance, dolce vita.
Valentino is referred to as the inventor of color (“Valentino Red”), the emperor of fashion, and the designer of all time. Let me remind you of a few unforgettable creations by this master of cut and elegance. One of them is definitely Julia Roberts’ long black dress with white, slender stripes, which she wore at the 2001 Oscars; another dress is a flowing, deep red creation worn by Gisele Bünchen during AW Haute Couture 1999/2000; the animal motif on Stella Tennant’s luxurious, open dress in Valentino’s 1998 spring collection is astonishing; the next outstanding creation is a pale pink dress with a pearly sheen, worn by Halle Berry at the 1996 Oscars; another incredible, timeless design is Naomi Campbell’s black, elegant, slim-fitting dress from the fall/winter 1995/1996 collection; Another one-of-a-kind creation is the extremely light, meringue-like white dress worn by Christy Turlington in the spring/summer 1993 collection; the black and white stripes adorning Linda Evangelista’s dress in the spring/summer 1992 collection will also never be forgotten. These are creations that will remain forever in our memory and in the history of fashion.
In a world of seemingly endless possibilities, is it realistic to return to perfect quality, simplicity, elegance, and beauty? Who will be the next Valentino Clemente Ludovico Garavani? By the way, I advise readers to say this name out loud – doesn’t it sound really satisfying?
Meanwhile, thanks to the diligence and ingenuity of the Valentino-Giammetti duo, we can view the brand’s achievements in the form of the online “Valentino Garavani Virtual Museum,” and Valentino’s life and work can also be explored in a film with the not-so-restrained title “Valentino: The Last Emperor of High Fashion” .
Article by Adrianna Hanslik
