Valentino Garavani dies at 93; designer famed for signature 'Valentino red'

Valentino Garavani died at 93 at his home in Rome, the brand announced on Monday, Pagesix reported.

Before his death, Garavani spent decades dressing stars including Jackie Kennedy Onassis, Elizabeth Taylor, Anne Hathaway and Gwyneth Paltrow, creating gowns for the Academy Awards, the Met Gala and couture wedding dresses. Many of his most memorable looks featured his signature "Valentino red," a poppy-red hue introduced in his first collection in 1959 that became so recognizable Pantone created an official color designation for it.

Hathaway was among his most devoted fans; Garavani came out of retirement to design her 2012 custom wedding dress—an ivory silk tulle gown with a hand-painted pink train—and she continued to wear his archival pieces, including a Fall 2003 Haute Couture red dress to a WWD event and a 2002 gown at the 2011 Oscars. The fashion house has passed through several creative directors since Garavani’s 2008 retirement, and other stars such as Gwyneth Paltrow have also worn vintage Valentino: Paltrow wore a Spring 1963 Valentino to the 2019 Emmys, a look her stylist Elizabeth Saltzman called "a fun way to put our nod towards wearing your clothes more than once, to honor a very dear friend, and to look like a billion dollar babe!"

The piece includes a gallery of the designer’s most iconic looks through the decades, highlighting clients from Jackie Kennedy to Anne Hathaway.

Key Topics

Culture, Valentino Garavani, Valentino, Valentino Red, Rome, Anne Hathaway