Valentino Garavani, who for five decades was the arbiter of taste for movie stars and royalty while outdoing the rich and famous with his extravagant lifestyle, has died in Rome at the age of 93.
The haute couture master has earned a reputation that has led Hollywood A-listers such as Elizabeth Taylor, Julia Roberts and Cate Blanchett to clamor to wear his latest creations at the Oscars.
The father of the “Valentino red” gained worldwide fame in the 1960s when former US first lady Jacqueline Kennedy became his client and wore a Valentino dress to her wedding to Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis.
With business partner and lifelong companion Giancarlo Giammetti, Valentino became a fashion industry phenomenon, dressing everyone from Sophia Loren to Anne Hathaway and Queen Maxima of the Netherlands. He was one of the first Italian designers to venture into licensing non-clothing items such as household items and perfumes, and his company debuted on the Italian stock exchange ahead of its competitors.
Source: Bloomberg
