Valentino Garavani — the man who turned a single shade of red into a global symbol of glamour and power — has died at 93. His foundation confirmed the news Monday, saying the legendary designer passed away at his home in Rome, “surrounded by his loved ones.”
A funeral is scheduled for Friday, Jan. 23, inside one of the city’s historic basilicas, a fitting tribute for a man whose name became synonymous with Italian cultural pride.
The loss lands heavily in a world now defined by the stark contrasts of President Trump’s second term, where culture, art, and self-expression have taken on heightened political meaning. Valentino represented something enduring, something defiantly beautiful in a climate that often feels anything but.
Fashion historian Elena Marconi told us Monday, “Valentino didn’t just dress women. He exalted them. In turbulent times like these, his death reminds us how rare it is to find creators who elevate rather than divide.”
Valentino founded his fashion house in 1960, crafting an empire from a tiny Roman atelier. His signature shade — known globally as Valentino Red — became so iconic that even his bulletproof Mercedes was painted in it. Insiders joked that the color functioned as both armor and aura.
His designs became instant staples for the world’s most photographed women, from Elizabeth Taylor to Audrey Hepburn. Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis famously chose a Valentino gown for her wedding to Aristotle Onassis, a moment fashion critics still cite as a defining pop-culture milestone.
Despite international fame, Valentino often described his work with disarming simplicity. “I try to make my girls look sensational,” he told The New York Times in 2007. He dismissed the idea of overthinking fashion. Clothes, he insisted, should be “very beautiful,” and life should be “very funny” and “very nice.”
Former Rome mayor Walter Veltroni once said, “In Italy, there is the Pope — and there is Valentino.” To many, he wasn’t exaggerating.
Valentino built his dynasty with longtime business partner Giancarlo Giammetti, now 83. The two began as lovers, then transitioned into lifelong collaborators. Giammetti later married a Brazilian socialite, while Valentino entered a relationship with one of his own models. Yet the bond between the two men endured for decades, powering one of the most influential labels in fashion history.
The designer was also known for traveling with a small entourage of beloved pugs — a detail that delighted fans and frustrated airport security in equal measure.
Valentino retired in 2008, two years after a playful cameo in The Devil Wears Prada cemented his status as a pop-culture icon for a new generation. His brand continued to evolve under new leadership, shaping runways, red carpets, and political statements across the globe.
Fashion writer Lucia Ferretti put it simply: “If beauty is resistance, Valentino was a revolutionary.”
As the world prepares to lay him to rest in Rome, mourners across Italy and beyond are reflecting on what his absence means in 2026 — a year marked by cultural battles over art, identity, and expression.
“Valentino believed in elegance as a form of respect,” Marconi added. “We could use more of that now.”
The fashion world will continue without him, but the shade of red he perfected — bold, unapologetic, impossible to ignore — remains his most lasting protest against the ordinary.
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