Valentino my Fashion Valentine

There are a few designers in the game that have been around since it seems the dawn of Haute Couture. A few celebrated single names that everyone, regardless of their level of fashion knowledge seems to know. Ask anyone to rifle off those names and I can almost guarantee you Valentino is in the the top five.

Valentino Garavani

Valentino Garavani, the garishly tan man with an almost feline smile has been a consistently powerful player in the high-end fashion game. For over 45 years in fact his luxurious brand has been draped on the most elite of women, and coveted by us normies everywhere. He designed entire wardrobes for Jacqueline Kennedy Onasis, along with her wedding dress when she married Aristotle. He designed for Princess Diana, and the Princess of Bulgaria was a personal Muse for Valentino.

Jackie Kennedy Onassis wearing Valentino
at the Vogue Awards in 1976

Jackie Kennedy Onassis wedding dress when she married
Aristotle Onassis

He may be most synonymous with elegant, show stopping evening gowns however.  His gowns are worn on red carpets at nearly every awards show buy the latest and greatest in Hollywood style icons. This red carpet presence  is actually quite fitting. Valentino's beginnings were filled with silver screen dreams. At a young age he became fascinated with the likes of Veronica Lake, Elizabeth Taylor, and Rita Hayworth. He knew he wanted to create ladies fashion, for beautiful women. He wanted to make already beautiful women look even more beautiful, and since 1962 after his first significant fashion show at Pitti Palace in Florence, Italy, he's been doing just that. And ever since then, he's been sticking to his guns, being one of the few remaining courtiers who still does everything by hand. In fact, with over 100 seamstresses on staff only 1 sewing machine exists in the studio.

Anne Hathaway in Valentino

Julia Roberts in Valentino

Diane Kruger in Valentino

Along with help from his head seamstress Antoinette de Angelis and his longtime love, business partner, and essentially other half, Giancarlo Giammetti Valentino has developed a brand that spans across women's ready-to-wear,couture, men's wear, accessories, and fragrances along with two diffusion lines: Valentino Roma and Valentino R.E.D.

Valentino and Giancarlo Giammetti the early years

Valentino and Giancarlo present day

He's also developed a signature style defined by classic femininity, elegant silhouettes, and sophisticated glamour.... the epitome of "Lady Chic." Along with those womanly forms, comes a few Valentino signatures, such as bows, interestingly enough the pyramid stud... and of course, his signature intensely saturated "Valentino Red". (Although his ground breaking "White" collection of 1968 would go down in history as well).

Valentino Signature Bow Clutch

Valentino Studded T-Strap Pump

Examples of Valentino Red

Examples of Valentino Red

I could go on and on, but I have to say, you should watch Valentino: The Last Emperor by Acolyte Films. There's no way to learn more about a designer than by seeing him in his natural element. And as far as fashion documentaries go, its highly entertaining, I'd definitely recommend it.

After watching this movie you'll see the group has gone through it's fair share of drama. And you'll also notice I talk about Valentino like he's still designing, which he is not... but his legacy lives on.  In 2007 he retired, and after a brief stint with Alessandra Faccinetti (former women's wear designer for Gucci) as creative director, Pier Paolo Piccioli and Maria Grazia Chiuri took the reigns in Fall of 2009.

Pier Paolo Piccioli and Maria Grazia Chiuri
current Creative Directors of Valentino

Even in his absence however, the name continues to go strong. And while Valentino himself once took inspiration from the silver screen, it is now clear he himself serves as a point of inspiration for the brand. It was incredibly apparent in the Spring and Fall runways that Pier and Maria looked back to the originator of the brand to return the Valentino name to its oh so elegant roots once more.