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The colour was introduced to the fashion world years later, in 1959, through a strapless cocktail dress made of draped tulle. Since then, it has borne his name — “Valentino red” — becoming the signature shade of the Italian fashion house.
“I think a woman dressed in red is always wonderful, she is the perfect image of a heroine,” Valentino wrote in his 2022 book Rosso (Red). True to that belief, he ensured that at least one red dress appeared in every collection.
Valentino, one of Italy’s most prominent fashion designers, died on Monday at his residence in Rome, his foundation announced. He was 93 years old.
The cause of death was not immediately disclosed.
Valentino was ranked alongside Giorgio Armani and Karl Lagerfeld as one of the last great designers of a generation that preceded the era in which fashion became a highly commercial industry increasingly driven by financiers and marketing executives rather than couturiers.
Reaching the pinnacle of haute couture, he became the first Italian designer to appear on the prestigious Paris haute couture catwalks.
With a passion for cinema, Valentino dreamed in his youth of dressing the “beautiful ladies of the silverscreen”, as he described them, including Hollywood stars of the 1950s such as Lana Turner and Judy Garland.
He later designed Elizabeth Taylor’s wedding gown and became a preferred designer for many Oscar-winning actresses, including Sharon Stone and Penelope Cruz.
His romantic creations, though seemingly simple, were rich in intricate details. “I love beauty,” Valentino once said. “It is not my fault. And I know what women want: they want to be beautiful.”
The designer, who also dressed Jackie Kennedy, built a fashion empire bearing his name before selling it ahead of his retirement in 2008.
An only child, Valentino was born into a well-to-do family in Voghera, south of Milan, where his father owned an electrical supplies company.
From an early age, he showed a passion for drawing and luxury clothing. He studied couture in Milan and Paris, later apprenticing with designer Jean Dessès. In 1960, he returned to Italy and opened his own fashion house in central Rome.
That same year, Elizabeth Taylor wore a white Valentino gown to the premiere of the blockbuster film Spartacus.
Also in 1960, Valentino met Giancarlo Giammetti at a Roman café. Giammetti would become both his business partner and life partner.
“To share life with a person for your whole existence – every moment, joy, pain, enthusiasm, disappointment – is something that cannot be defined,” Valentino said of him.
Giammetti managed the business side of the fashion house, allowing Valentino to focus on creative work.
“To be with Valentino as a friend, as a lover and as an employee is a bit the same: you need a lot of patience,” Giammetti said in the documentary Valentino: The Last Emperor, which followed the designer during the final two years of his career.
Valentino’s georgette fabrics, chiffon ruffles and elaborate embellishments — including the exclusive budellini technique, in which long strips of sheep’s wool are hand-rolled, wrapped in silk and stitched together — earned him numerous awards, including France’s highest civilian honour in 2006.
“Fame and fortune didn’t change him,” Giammetti said at the time. “He is still the little guy I met 45 years ago.”
Superstitious and introverted by nature, Valentino loved chocolate, skiing and his pugs. In a 2017 interview with Corriere, he admitted that he feared death.
In 2007, he dazzled Rome with grand celebrations marking his decades-long career — a three-day programme of dinners, parties and exhibitions attended by thousands of guests from around the world.
Months later, he announced his retirement from designing for the brand, which he no longer controlled after selling it nearly a decade earlier for around $300 million.
“I have decided that this is the perfect moment to say adieu to the world of fashion,” he said. “As the English say, I would like to leave the party when it is still full.”
His final catwalk show took place in Paris in January 2008, a city he called his second home and credited with teaching him to love fashion and life.
The fashion house was acquired by Qatari investment fund Mayhoola for 700 million euros in 2012. In 2023, French luxury group Kering purchased a 30% stake, with plans to acquire full ownership from 2026, though the move was later postponed until at least 2028.
Valentino and Giammetti remained active patrons of the arts. In 2025, their foundation opened the PM23 gallery in central Rome, adjacent to Valentino’s headquarters.
Appropriately, the inaugural exhibition, titled Horizons/Red, focused on the colour most closely linked to the designer.
“Red isn’t just a colour,” Giammetti said at the time. “It’s a symbolic and aesthetic force of extraordinary power.”
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