Valentino Haute Couture gold lurex low cut gown
View Similar Items
Valentino Haute Couture gold lurex low cut gown
About the Item
Valentino
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.
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 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 has expanded far beyond women’s haute couture and prêt-à-porter to encompass various lines of accessories, including shoes, sunglasses, scarves and perfume.
Find vintage Valentino evening dresses, handbags and other items on 1stDibs now.
- HAUTE COUTURE INTERNATIONAL Heavily Beaded Silk Champagne Opera Coat & DressBy HAUTE COUTURE INT'LLocated in Los Angeles, CAThis Haute Couture International ensemble is composed of a champagne tone embellished silk with a floral/Ivy motif. The coat features cente...Category
20th Century Hong Kong Evening Dresses and Gowns
- Saint Laurent Plunge Neck Gold Tunic Dress DressBy Yves Saint LaurentLocated in Krakow, PLEnsure you never stay out of focus with this glittering golden mini dress from Saint Laurent's SS17 selection. This silk mini dress is designed with a plunging neckline, long sleeve...Category
2010s Evening Dresses and Gowns
- Vintage White Cocktail Dress with Bead DetailLocated in London, GBA lovely white vintage cocktail dress from the 1950's. The dress has a round neckline and has a pleat at the front with bow detail . It is...Category
1950s Unknown Cocktail Dresses
- Metallic Pink Brocade 1960s Evening DressLocated in London, GBPink brocade evening dress featuring an all over rose motif deign in metallic threads lined in raw silk in a complimenting colour. Featuring a bow at the ...Category
20th Century Evening Dresses
- 1930 Art Deco Golden Silk Net & Sequin Hollywood Starlet GownLocated in Gresham, ORA divine 1930s Hollywood Starlet Gown: Spaghetti straps, gathered bust radiates down to the hem in golden sequined rays on gold silk tulle netti...Category
1930s American Evening Gowns
- 1960s Saks Fifth Avenue Cream Silk Chiffon Dress w/ Rhinestone Encrusted BodiceBy Saks Fifth AvenueLocated in Gresham, OR1960s Saks Fifth Avenue Cream Silk Chiffon Sheath Dress w/ Rhinestone Encrusted Bodice: Heavily boned and structured bodice is entirely encrusted with rhinestones supported by tiny s...Category
1960s American Evening Gowns