Valentino (fashion designer)

For other uses, see Valentino (fashion designer) (disambiguation).

File:ValentinoLogo.jpg

Valentino is a fashion house created by Valentino Garavani. It is among the most famous Italian fashion houses.

History

Garavani became interested in fashion while in middle school, during which time he studied under Vogherese designer Ernestina Salvadeo (an aunt of noted artist Aldo Giorgini) and at age 17 he moved to Paris to pursue this interest. He studied at the Ecole des Beaux Arts and Chambre Syndicale de la Couture Parisienne. He first found apprentice jobs, with Jean Desses where he used to help Jacqueline de Ribes sketch her dress ideas. Then he joined Guy Laroche for 2 years. He moved to Rome in the beginning of the 1960s and started his own fashion house At the end of the 1960s Valentino meets Giancarlo Giammetti, an architecture student who abandons the university to become his business partner. Giammetti's entrepreneurial genius will prove fundamental to the worldwide expansion and success of the House.

Valentino's international debut took place in 1962 in Florence, the Italian fashion capital of the time. His first show at the Pitti Palace was welcomed as a true revelation and the young couturier was submerged by orders from foreign buyers and enthusiastic comments on the press. In 1967, he premiered the Valentino White Collection, which became famous for the "V" logo he designed. He designed the white dress that Jacqueline Kennedy wore to her wedding with Aristotle Onassis. Throughout the 1970s Valentino spent considerable time in New York City where his presence was embraced by social personalities such as Diana Vreeland and art identities such as Andy Warhol . He currently designs menswear and womenswear and has his own perfume and make-up line. Valentino's expansion continues with a chain of boutiques in the USA and Japan.

1989 marked the opening of the Academia Valentino, a cultural space located near his atelier in Rome, for the presentation of art exhbitions. The next year, encouraged by their friend Elizabeth Taylor, Valentino Garavani and Giancarlo Giammetti create L.I.F.E., association for the support of AIDS-related patients, which benefits from the activities of the Accademia Valentino.

In 1998 Valentino and his partner Giancarlo Giammetti sold their empire to the LVMH Group, but Valentino is still designing all the collections and his clothes can be seen on the most sophisticated and elegant women in the world, from Nicole Kidman to Gwyneth Paltrow to Halle Berry, without forgetting many royal princesses such as Maxima of the Netherlands, Mette Merit of Norway and Marie Chantal of Greece.

Oprah has also covered how he creates his Haute Couture clothing in one of her shows in 2005. She also wrote a page in her magazine, O, expressing how she had admired his clothing long before she could afford it.

In 2006, he appeared as himself in the film version of The Devil Wears Prada, for which he had designed a gown for Meryl Streep. President Chirac of France awarded him the prestigious Legion d'Honneur that July.

Miscellaneous

• He owns six pugs: Margot, Maude, Monty, Molly, Milton and Maggie

• Valentino is the godfather of the Brazilian brothers Anthony and Sean De Souza, sons of his PR executive Carlos "Cacà" de Souza and of his muse and PR woman in Paris, Brazilian-born blond socialite Charlene Shorto de Ganay.

• Valentino owns : Palazzo Mignanelli near the Spanish steps and a villa on the historical landmark of Via Appia Antica, both in Rome, Chalet Gifferhorn in Gstaad, Wideville castle outside Paris, an apartment near the Frick museum overlooking Central Park in New York and one of the largest private houses in London's Holland Park. His villa on the cliffs of Capri has been sold.

• His yacht T. M. Blue One, is a hundred-and-fifty-two-foot long and boasts a full-time staff of eleven, and a selection of art ranging from Picassos to Andy Warhol.

• As affirmed in an interview with American Vanity Fair he has a love relationship with American jewel and bag designer Bruce Hoeksema, a former model.

Biography

• 1959 Having completed his fashion studies and an apprenticeship with Jean Desses and Guy Laroche, Valentino starts up his first studio in Rome
• 1960 Begins his collaboration with Giancarlo Giammetti, who manages the commercial development of the House of Valentino
• 1962 His first collection at the international fashion Gotha in the Palazzo Pitti, Florence, is a triumphant success
• 1965 Valentino is recognized as the top name in Italian Haute Couture
• 1967 He is awarded the Neiman Marcus Prize in Dallas (the equivalent of an Oscar in the world of Fashion)
• 1968 Valentino's reputation is secured with the enormous success of his "Collezione Bianca", the first clothes and accessories to have the magic "V" label Designs the wedding dress worn by Jacqueline Kennedy for her marriage to Aristotle Onassis.
• 1969 Begins his Boutique line of clothes and opens the first Valentino shop in Milan
• 1970 Launch of his first Ready-to-Wear collections Opening of Valentino boutiques in Rome and New York
• 1971 Opening of the first menswear shop in Via Condotti
• 1975 First fashion show of his Ready-to-Wear collection in Paris
• 1976 Opens a boutique in Tokyo
• 1978 Launch of the Valentino perfume at a gala evening in Paris, at the The‰tre des Champs Elysees
• 1982 Publication of the book "Valentino", edited by Franco Maria Ricci 20 September, Valentino presents his Autumn/Winter collection at the Metropolitan Museum in New York
• 1984 Valentino celebrates his twenty-fifth year in the business and receives an official award from the Minister for Industry
• 1985 He is awarded the Grand'Ufficiale dell'Ordine al Merito by the President of Italy
• 1986 Receives the highest decoration possible in Italy, the Cavaliere di Gran Croce, from the President
• 1989 First show of the Haute Couture collection in Paris
• 1990 In February, Valentino and Giancarlo Giammetti found L.I.F.E (initials in Italian for "Fighting, Informing, Building, Teaching"), an association working for the fight against Aids. The Accademia Valentino is also officially opened to the public with an exhibition of painters of the Roman School Exhibition of "The Art of Cartier" at the Accademia Valentino Publication of the book "Valentino: Trent'Anni de Magia", by Leonardo.
• 1991 To celebrate his 30th year in the fashion business, an exhibition entitled "Valentino: Thirsty Years of Magic" is organized in Valentino's honour by the Mayor of Rome at the Capitole Museum, while the Accademia Valentino presents a retrospective of his designs. Creation of the perfume Vendetta for men and women.
• 1992 Exhibition at the Accademia Valentino entitled: "La seduzione da Boucher a Warhol" The "Valentino: Thirty Years of Magic"' exhibition is invited to go to New York to coincide with the fifth centenary celebrations of the discovery of America. Valentino is invited by the Chinese government to stage a show in Beijing
• 1994 In January, Valentino presents his first ever costume designs at the Eisenhower Theatre in the John Fitzgerald Kennedy Center, Washington, for an opera entitled "The Dream of Valentino", based on the life of the movie star Rudolf Valentino
• 1995 Valentino's return to Italy is celebrated on 14 January in Florence with a fashion show at the Stazione Leopolda, over thirty years his first show at the Palazzo Pitti. The Mayor of Florence awards him the "Premio speciale dell'arte nella moda"
• 1996 Valentino is named Cavaliere del Lavoro
• 1998 The House of Valentino is bought by LVMH group
• 2004 launch of V perfume which will be followed by V for men
• 2006 President Chirac awards Valentino of the legion d'Honneur

External links

• a long and detailed article on Valentino by Michael Specter
• Oprah's Valentino special
• Martha Stewart's Valentino special
• Valentino's profile in the FMD-database