Valentino Black Flats
1990s Italian Flat Front Pants
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Flat Front Pants
2010s Shoes
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2010s Italian Sandals
2010s Italian Sandals
2010s Italian Sandals
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2010s Italian Clogs Mules
2010s Italian Shoes
2010s Italian Sandals
2010s Italian Sandals
2010s Italian Sandals
21st Century and Contemporary Pants
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Shoes
2010s Italian Shoes
21st Century and Contemporary British Shoes
21st Century and Contemporary Evening Bags and Minaudières
2010s Italian Sandals
2010s Italian Cocktail Dresses
2010s Italian Shoes
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Cocktail Dresses
2010s Shoes
1970s Italian Dress and Coat Ensembles
2010s Italian Wide Leg Pants
21st Century and Contemporary European Shoulder Bags
2010s Jackets
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Pullovers
21st Century and Contemporary Shoes
1970s Italian Jumpsuits
1970s Italian Evening Bags and Minaudières
1980s Blazers
Early 2000s Italian Shirts
2010s Pullovers
Early 2000s Italian Cocktail Dresses
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1980s Italian Skirts
1980s Italian Suits, Outfits and Ensembles
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21st Century and Contemporary Italian Cocktail Dresses
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Mid-20th Century Moroccan Caftans
Mid-20th Century Moroccan Caftans
Late 20th Century Moroccan Bohemian Textiles
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1980s Moroccan Caftans
Vintage 1960s Moroccan Moorish Collectible Jewelry
Metallic Thread, Gold
1980s Moroccan Caftans
1980s Moroccan Caftans
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Damask
20th Century Italian Cocktail Dresses
1960s Crossbody Bags and Messenger Bags
1980s Italian Skirts
1980s Italian Evening Dresses
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1980s Italian Skirt Suits
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The mononymously known Italian designer Valentino Clemente Ludovico Garavani (b. 1932) is renowned for his fashion house of romantic styles and feminine shapes that he founded in Rome in 1960. Valentino dresses, skirts and other apparel captured the hearts of many of Italy’s wealthiest ladies in the couturier’s early days and led to commissions from Babe Paley, Gloria Guinness, Jayne Wrightsman and others on the international best-dressed list (when it still meant something). They sought out Valentino for gorgeous gowns, jackets, elegant daytime wear and even when they needed wedding dresses.
An early fascination with fashion developed when Valentino attended the theater as a child and was dazzled by the evening gowns on stage. While a teenager in Voghera, Lombardy, he studied under Italian designer Ernestina Salvadeo and soon moved to Paris, where he trained at the École des Beaux-Arts and the Chambre Syndicale de la Couture Parisienne. Valentino spent time apprenticing under haute couturiers Jean Dessès and Guy Laroche, learning how to design and construct high fashion while also thinking about how to strike out on his own.
In 1959, Valentino returned to Italy, and a year later, he opened his own salon, soon joining with longtime professional and personal partner Giancarlo Giammetti. It was located on Rome’s trendy Via Condotti and modeled after the French maisons. One of his earliest clients was Elizabeth Taylor, who discovered Valentino while she was in Rome filming Cleopatra and ordered the white dress that she wore to the premiere of Spartacus.
When the designer launched his first couture line in 1962 with its fiery red colors, it was internationally celebrated, with Valentino soon attiring fashion trendsetters including Princess Margaret and Audrey Hepburn. He formed an especially close friendship with Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, for whom he designed numerous dresses. Luxurious drapery with fine needlework, bold uses of color and dramatic flourishes would define Valentino fashion across the decades.
As a fashion house, Valentino is best known for its signature Valentino Red color, though one of its iconic lines is the monochromatic “no colour” collection for which the designer won the Neiman Marcus Award in 1967. (The collection also debuted his trademark “V.”) The white dresses and beige dresses led to a demand for Valentino wedding gowns, with clients including Elizabeth Taylor, Jennifer Lopez and Anne Hathaway.
Valentino retired from his fashion empire in 2007, with Alessandra Facchinetti and then the duo Maria Grazia Chiuri (who departed in 2016) and Pierpaolo Piccioli succeeding him as creative directors. But Valentino still steps out of retirement for special occasions, such as designing a wedding gown for Princess Madeleine of Sweden in 2013.
Today, the brand offers a range of collections that include the Valentino Garavani line and REDValentino, a diffusion line that is aimed at a younger audience. The house has expanded far beyond women’s haute couture and prêt-à-porter to encompass various lines of accessories, including shoes, sunglasses, scarves and perfume.
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