Whether you’re a loyal fashion follower or couldn’t be bothered about couture, chances are you know about Valentino. To those who don’t, or need a refresher, Valentino is a popular, longstanding feminine-focused fashion house that has dressed actresses, socialites, and royalty since 1961. The founder, creative director, and namesake of Valentino, Valentino Garavani, passed away on January 19, 2026 in his home in Rome; he was 93 years old. His death devastated the fashion world with many A-list celebrities, fashion designers, and more mourning him.
While Valentino has passed on, we here at The Voice are keeping his memory alive by reminiscing about his life and the influence he had on the fashion industry.
Valentino Garavani was born in 1932 in Voghera Italy, according to Brittanica, and from a young age he expressed a love for costume and design. He was inspired by his apprenticeship with his aunt, working for local fashion designer Ernestina Salavedo. In 1949, Valentino attended the École des Beaux-Arts to study fashion in Paris. After school, Valentino worked in two different couture houses before moving to Rome to start his own house.
In 1959, the fashion house “Valentino” was created, and with the funding of his father and a business partner, he presented his first Haute Couture Spring/Summer collection. In this collection was the “Fiesta” dress, a poppy red strapless cocktail dress that would launch his signature color “Valentino Red,” creating an iconic visual brand for the fashion house. “Valentino Red” or “Russo Valentino” became so recognizable that it earned a spot on Pantone’s color chart.
While his work caught the eye of film star Elizabeth Taylor, who ordered one of his white haute couture column dresses for the screening of her movie Spartacus, Valentino’s economic situation was precarious. His saving grace would come to be Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, who was so taken with his designs that she ordered six black and white haute couture dresses from his 1964 collection to wear during her mourning period after the death of her husband. After those six dresses, Valentino and Kennedy would create a lifelong friendship with Kennedy becoming a loyal client and Valentino even designing her wedding dress to Aristotle Onassis in 1968, according to Vogue.
Valentino released his “White Collection” in 1968 as well, which warranted international recognition for his designs. This was because of his exclusive use of the color white in the collection, which contrasted the highly popular use of vibrant colors and patterns at the time.
Valentino officially stepped down from his role of creative director in September 2007. After 47 years working in the fashion industry Valentino Garavani was able to create one of the most recognizable and known fashion houses within the industry. Throughout his time working he has highlighted the feeling and style of the “elegant woman.” From his Parisian education in fashion and couture he learned to keep a more traditional bust and structure for his clothes, but it was his Italian upbringing and heritage that inspired the color and texture of his designs. Blending color and tradition was Valentino’s specialty, creating a whole new “glitterati chic” aesthetic focused on refined tailoring accompanied by eye-catching textures and colors.