Valentino Garavani, the famous Italian fashion designer who dressed the likes of Jacqueline Kennedy, Princess Diana and Elizabeth Taylor, passed away on Jan. 19, 2026, at the age of 93 at his home in Rome. His foundation announced that he had passed away from natural causes.
The prodigious service was attended by more than 10,000 people at the Basilica of Saint Mary of the Angels and Martyrs, near Piazza della Repubblica in Rome. It was a star-studded event with celebrities and fashion moguls like Global Editorial Director of Vogue Anna Wintour, actress Anne Hathaway, fashion influencer and socialite Olivia Palermo and actress and model Elizabeth Hurley, paying their respects.
Mourners held signs to commemorate the passionately creative life of Garavani. One of them read “Addio Valentino. Liftimo imperatore della Moda,” which translates to “Goodbye Valentino. The Emperor of Fashion.”
Garavani was the longest serving couturier of the 20th and 21st centuries, known for crafting the most sensational red-carpet looks. Born to a middle-class family in 1932, he was raised in the town of Voghera, just south of Milan. He commonly accompanied his older sister to the theatre as a child, where his deep infatuation for elegantly dressing women expanded.
“Ziegfeld Girl,” a musical starring Judy Garland, Hedy Lamarr and Lana Turner piqued Garavani’s interest upon its 1948 release in Italy. Drawn to the sprawling crowns, flowing fabrics and extravagant silhouettes, he began seeing signs to enter the industry.
That inspiration was coupled by viewing a live production of Georges Bizet’s “Carmen,” an opera about an independent woman who breaks the barrier of societal norms, demanding a better life for herself. The superfluous use of red to depict a variety of emotions left a deep impression on him, leading to the creation of his dominant Valentino red.
“I am not so enchanted when I see lots of people dressed in black on the street,” Garavani once said, demonstrating an impenetrable preference for glamor and maximalism, rather than simplicity and minimalism.
At the age of 17, he moved to Paris to study at the École des Beaux-Arts and Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture Parisienne — schools that prepared their students to lead at the French maisons, including Chanel, Dior, Hermès and Maison Margiela. From there, he worked at Jean Dessès, Guy Laroche and eventually returned to Italy in 1959 to start his own couture house in Rome.
He partnered up with architecture student Giancarlo Giammetti in 1960. In their first year, Giammetti saved the brand from bankruptcy and transformed it quickly, eventually dropping out of architecture school. They formed a bond that transcended both business and life, as Giammetti was Garavani’s longtime companion.
Following a period of struggle to attract customers, Garavani would meet one of his most loyal clients: Jacqueline Kennedy. As she mourned the loss of her husband President John F. Kennedy, she stood with power and grace in a multitude of monochrome Valentino looks.
When Kennedy and her second husband, Aristotle Onassis, married in 1968, she wore a knee-length ivory couture dress designed by Valentino from the Spring/Summer 1968 “Sfilata Bianca” (all-white) collection. It didn’t take long until “The Last Emperor” built an A-list clientele, dressing Julia Roberts, Sharon Stone and Cate Blanchett.
Throughout Garavani’s career, he was owner of Valentino, Valentino Garavani, REDValentino, Valentino Roma and Valentino Beauty. His work spanned five decades, and despite retiring in 2008, he remained a prominent figure until his death.
