The Last Emperor of Fashion: Valentino Garavani Dies at 93

Iconic Italian designer Valentino Garavani, whose designs have adorned some of the most elegant women in the wqorld has died at the age of 93. The news of his demise was confirmed by Italy's ANSA news agency.

According to reports, the giant of the world’s haute couture died at his home in Rome. ANSA cited the Valentino Garavani Foundation and the designer's longtime business and romantic partner, Giancarlo Giammetti as it broke the news.

"Valentino Garavani passed away today at his Roman residence, surrounded by his loved ones," wrote his Rome-based foundation on social media.

A funeral is planned for Friday in the Italian capital, with a lying in state on Wednesday and Thursday.

Emperor of Fashion dead at 93

One of the most iconic fashion designers, Valentino, dressed some of the world’s most popular women. From Audrey Hepburn to Jackie Kennedy, Princess Diana, Elizabeth Taylor to Nancy Reagan to Sharon Stone, Julia Roberts and Gwyneth Paltrow.

When the empress of Iran, Farah Pahlavi, escaped the country during the 1979 revolution, she was wearing a coat made by Valentino.

Dubbed as the ‘Sheik of Chic’ by Women's Wear Daily in the 1980s, Valentino was celebrated by the New York Times in 1997 for his "single-minded dedication to glamour." He was also given the title of “Emperor of Fashion”.

Both on the ramp and off it, Valentino exuded luxury down to the last detail of his immaculate hairdo and caramel tan, often photographed with multiple pug dogs at his side.

Early years

Named after the star of silent cinema Rudolph Valentino, who was known for ‘The Sheik’ among many other films, Valentino Garavani was born on May 11, 1932 in Voghera, a small town south of Milan. His father owned an electric cables business.

He was passionate about fashion from an early age and as a boy had asked for made-to-measure shoes. "I have had this illness since childhood," he told the Italian edition of Elle magazine in 2007. "I only like beautiful things."

"I do not like seeing men without ties, in a jumper, women with vulgar make-up and shapeless trousers. It is a sign of a bad education and a lack of self-respect."

He left home when he was 17 to study at prestigious arts and fashion schools in Paris, where the decadent French style of Christian Dior had revitalised a grim post-World War II fashion industry and would deeply impact Valentino's later aesthetic.

In 1952 he was hired by designer Jean Desses, who dressed wealthy clients including royalty, and five years later he went to work for Guy Laroche.

Roman fashion empire

In 1960 Valentino opened his own fashion house in Rome -- at the time a thriving star-studded city thanks to its vast Cinecitta film studios that acted as a branch of Hollywood.

He was assisted by his lover Giancarlo Giammetti, who had business know-how and would over the years transform the company into a global brand, shepherding it through successive buy-outs.

"Being the friend, lover and employee of Valentino for more than 45 years required a lot of patience," Giammetti said in the 2008 documentary, ‘Valentino: The Last Emperor’.

Valentino turned heads immediately with his opening collection in 1962 in Florence, which already featured what would become his signature colour -- the deep rich ‘Valentino red’.

Association with Jackie Kennedy

In his first decade, Valentino dressed the likes of Anita Ekberg, Sophia Loren and Liz Taylor, but it was a meeting with Jackie Kennedy in 1964 that would prove to be a turning point in the fashion mogul’s career.

He transformed her wardrobe, and in 1968 she picked an ivory-coloured lace dress from his famous white collection for her second marriage to Greek shipping mogul Aristotle Onassis.

It caused a sensation in the United States, and in 1970, Valentino was the first Italian designer to open a shop in New York. Over the years he would elevate the "Made in Italy" label to global prominence.

For the 2006 Oscar-nominated Hollywood film The Devil Wears Prada, starring Meryl Streep as a powerful fashion editor, Valentino made a cameo appearance at the recreation of one of his shows.

A year later and nearly a half-century after his first runway, he presented his last collection in Paris before retiring in January 2008.