Fashion designer Valentino Garavani, widely known as Valentino, passed away peacefully at age 93 at his Rome residence on January 19, 2026. Fans and other prominent designers paid their respects to the fashion icon during his funeral service. Many were dressed in his signature “Valentino red,” the color that first launched the man into worldwide renown.
Valentino’s designs emphasized elegance and luxury. He would often limit his designs to one or two colors, utilizing minimalism as a means to draw intrigue. Instead of the robust, flashy fashion that grew to dominate the industry, his clothing caught the eye with its attention to detail and striking silhouette. Valentino’s designs were largely aimed towards women; form-fitting or flowy, they characterized the class that comes with high fashion. Celebrities and nobility alike were drawn to this: notable examples include Anne Hathaway, Jacqueline Kennedy, Princess Diana, Elizabeth Taylor and Audrey Hepburn.
Valentino’s interest in fashion was lifelong. As a child, he was greatly inspired by the opulence of theatre and opera showings. This glitz and glamor convinced Valentino to pursue fashion as a career. Paris, the birthplace of haute couture, also became a source of creative stimulation for the young man. His time in highly prestigious schools such as Beaux-Arts de Paris and the Ecole de la Chambre Syndicale served as a foundation for his classic design style.
An artistic spirit such as Valentino was not well equipped to run a business. After relocating to Rome to open a boutique, Valentino found himself near bankruptcy within a year. 18-year-old Giancarlo Giammetti was his saving grace: he “took care of everything that was not part of the creation,” according to Valentino in a 2014 Fashion Icons interview. The pair’s relationship extended beyond the workplace, and they remained loyal friends for many years.
Valentino’s 48-year reign as creative head of his fashion house came to an end with the commercialization of fashion. “This way of life has disappeared, perhaps because today those with money do not always have class and memory,” Valentino said.
Valentino Garavani, the “last emperor of fashion,” refused to submit to a design process based on profit and marketability. He designed authentically till the end, adhering to his love of the beautiful.
