Valentino, 93, died at his Rome residence, the Valentino Garavani and Giancarlo Giammetti Foundation said in a statement announcing his death. While he built his house in Rome, he spent decades presenting collections in France.
He “was one of the last big couturiers who really embodied what was fashion in the 20th century,” said Pierre Groppo, fashion editor-in-chief at Vanity Fair France.
On a day meant to sell the future, many guests said they were thinking about what fashion has lost: the couturier as a living institution.
Groppo pointed to the codes that made Valentino instantly legible — “the dots, the ruffles, the knots” — and to a generation of designers who, he said, “in a way, invented what is celebrity culture.”
Valentino’s vision was built on a simple idea: make women look luminous, then make the moment unforgettable.
He dressed Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and Elizabeth Taylor, among others, fixed his signature “Valentino red” in the public imagination, and — through his decades-long partnership with Giancarlo Giammetti — helped turn the designer himself into part of the spectacle, as recognizable as the clients in his front row.
The end of a fashion era
Trained in Paris before founding his maison in Rome, Valentino became a rare bridge figure: Italian by origin, but fluent in the rituals that made Paris couture an institution. His career moved between those two capitals of elegance, bringing Roman grandeur into a system that still treats fashion not only as commerce, but as ceremony.
Even as he aged, the house’s founder kept turning up at its couture and ready-to-wear shows, as observed by one Associated Press journalist — until he eventually retreated from public life, all the while radiating quiet grandeur from his front-row seat.
For some in Paris on Tuesday, the loss felt personal precisely because Valentino’s world was never only Italian.
Groppo recalled the designer as “very much more than a fashion brand,” adding: “It was a lifestyle.”
That lifestyle — couture polish, social glamour, and the conviction that elegance could be a form of power — remains a reference point even as fashion accelerates toward louder branding and faster cycles.
“It’s quite sad as he’s so important to the fashion industry, and he contributed a lot and I cannot forget the stunning red he created,” said Lolo Zhang, a Chinese fashion influencer attending Louis Vuitton ’s show in Paris.
“He always celebrated pure beauty, and architecture for the silhouette, and how he used color. The old era just passed by.”
Other guests described a delayed realization — the kind that arrives only when a figure who seemed permanent is suddenly gone.
YSL, Chanel and Valentino
For Paris fashion observer Benedict Epinay, the grief was bound up with memory. And with the emotional charge of Valentino’s final bow.
“It was such a great moment. I was lucky enough to attend the last show he gave,” Epinay said. “It was so moving because we knew at that time it was the last show.”
Fashion observer Arfan Ghani pointed to what Valentino represented to younger designers: a “classy” standard of restraint in an era that often rewards noise.
“Because it was very classical materials,” Ghani said. “It wasn’t as loud as a lot of other of these brands are with branding.”
Paris-based sculptor Ranti Bam described Valentino in the language of form: less trend than structure, less look than line.
“As a sculptor I saw Valentino as an artist,” Bam said. “He transcended fashion into sculpture.”
“He didn’t follow trends, he pursued form,” she added. “That’s why his work doesn’t date, it endures.”
The fashion house Valentino has for years continued under a new generation of leadership and design — still showcased in Paris.
7 of Valentino’s most iconic fashion moments
If this stunning garment on 90s supermodel Linda Evangelista looks familiar, it’s because it was recently worn by Zendaya on the red carpet for the premiere of Euphoria season two. But the standout black and white gown first made an appearance three decades prior – and four years before our fave actress and CFDA-approved fashion icon was even born – when redheaded Linda walked the Valentino SS92 show in Paris. The epitome of elegance to this day, it’s a fitting vintage gown for the biggest star of the moment and future Oscar winner (probably – we’re manifesting it!).
Valentino Garavani has been behind the bridal looks of the biggest stars of the past few decades, from Elizabeth Taylor and Jacqueline Kennedy-Onassis to Courtney Cox, J-Lo and Anne Hathaway. Some of his most famed wedding designs come from the 90s though, including this vision of tulle complete with intricate lacy corset and floral detailing pinned into the peplum.
When Naomi Campbell walked for Valentino’s AW 1995-1996 prêt à porter collection, her fitted black dress was already rather risqué with sheer sequin embellished panels along each side, exposing the supermodel’s naked body underneath. It was her turn at the end of the runway though, that gagged all, with the back of the dress made from a third translucent column revealing Naomi’s butt. Pretty iconic if you ask us.
At the 1996 Oscars, Catwoman legend and Bond girl Halle Berry arrived wearing a svelty slip dress from Valentino in soft lilac silk cut with lilac satin on the bodice and lilac chiffon around her neck. The straps were adorned with delicate floral embellishments that added to the cute, uber-90s girly look.
Valentino has always had a thing for animal prints. In fact, the Valentino archives reportedly hold a belted cashmere dress dotted with leopard spots that was made by the designer in the 50s, prior to the fashion house even being set up. Across the decades, the atelier has been inspired by all manner of animal patterns – from Zebra-stripe crop tops to a Giraffe-print caftan. He really went for it in his SS98 collection though, designing a gold lace gown with a serpent embellishment wrapped around the full length of the body; a leopard print lingerie look; and this stunning sequin tiger embroidered onto the sheer dress adorning model Stella Tennant.
When he presented his first collection back in the 50s, Valentino designed a new hue of vivid red that was noted for its innate sexuality and romance. Known as Valentino Rosso, it contained no pigment aside from that one shade, ultimately giving it an intensity so vivid it could be emitting its own light. The invention was so beloved, Valentino would go on to have at least one look in every collection in the unique, standout tone. One of the most famous examples? This stunning look that had Gisele Bündchen glowing on the runway. Before she became the highest paid supermodel of the mid 00s – she had been rejected 42 times during castings before shocking all with her sexy rain-soaked garments at the 1998 Alexander McQueen show – Gisele stunned the world when she walked for Valentino in 1999, looking like a blossoming rose in the strappy flowing gown.
Valentino himself has said that when actress Julia Roberts wore one of his dresses from his 1992 collection to pick up the best actress award for Erin Brokovich at the 73rd Academy Awards, it was the highlight of his career. Julia had reportedly been sent multiple looks from the top designers of the period but was unimpressed. Luckily, this svelte black number with a tulle train showed up. Years later, it was still being talked about, ultimately being voted the third most iconic red carpet look of all time (the first was Liz Hurley’s safety pin Versace dress). It’s so legendary the gown even has its own Wikipedia page!
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