Fashion World Mourns Valentino Garavani As He Dies At 93

Valentino Garavani, the Roman couturier who launched his fashion house in 1960 and went on to dress royals, American first ladies and iconic celebrities, died yesterday at his home in Rome. He was 93.

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News of his passing moved quickly through the industry, and rightly so; legends of his calibre don’t come often. Within hours, tributes from actresses, models and designers began circulating, each one reminding us of the quiet Roman authority he carried and the unmistakable beauty he brought into fashion.

Valentino wasn’t just another name in couture; he was the designer who gave the world an entirely new visual vocabulary. He claimed a colour, that unmistakable, searing scarlet now known simply as Valentino Red, and turned it into a signature long before branding became a strategy. At the heart of his work was a simple, enduring ambition: “I always wanted to make women beautiful.”

Val's Gals

“Val’s Gals” was the ultra-glam circle of women, such as Audrey Hepburn, Elizabeth Taylor, and Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, who inspired and wore Valentino Garavani’s creations. Together, they embodied the jet-set elegance of the 1960s, becoming the ultimate muses and faces of Maison Valentino’s enduring, timeless glamour.

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Jackie Kennedy’s ivory lace mini dress for her wedding to Aristotle Onassis remains one of Garavani’s most culturally resonant creations. Chosen from his first all-white haute couture collection, the design distilled the quiet refinement Kennedy was known for — delicate lacework balanced with soft structure and an effortless modernity that felt strikingly ahead of its time in the late 1960s.

The moment marked the beginning of a long, loyal relationship between Kennedy and Garavani, while also signalling the Roman atelier’s arrival as a new global authority on elegance. Subtle yet instantly iconic, the look revealed how intuitively Garavani understood what made a woman feel truly effortless in a dress.

Julia Roberts’ vintage black-and-white Valentino gown at the 2001 Oscars remains one of the most memorable red-carpet moments in fashion. Taken from Valentino’s 1992 haute couture archive, the black velvet and white satin design was elegant, graphic and perfectly pared back. Roberts carried it with the effortless confidence Garavani believed great couture should naturally bring out.

Elizabeth Taylor wore an exquisite Valentino Haute Couture gown to the Spartacus premiere in Rome, a look that showcased the designer’s early mastery of soft, Roman glamour. Draped in lavender chiffon and finished with delicate beading, the gown reflected Valentino’s instinctive ability to balance sensuality with restraint. It remains one of the clearest examples of how his work could turn a simple silhouette into something quietly unforgettable.

Valentino Red

Long before colour became a branding device, Valentino understood its emotional power. The shade- rich, saturated, and unmistakably his was a deliberate move. He once spoke of being inspired by a woman in a red dress at the opera in Barcelona, but what followed was years of refinement, until the colour became something instantly recognisable without explanation. 

Princess Diana wore a deep red Valentino dress to a Paul McCartney performance in 1992, marking one of her most memorable style moments. The fitted velvet bodice and richly textured skirt showed how seamlessly Garavani’s designs translated to women in the public eye.

Anne Hathaway’s red Valentino gown at the 2011 Oscars is still one of her most striking red-carpet moments. The strapless dress, with its gathered bustle and soft floral details, showed how Valentino could make bold colour feel elegant. It was a look that felt confident, classic and unmistakably Garavani.

At the 2013 Oscars, Jennifer Aniston stepped onto the red carpet in a striking strapless red Valentino Haute Couture gown from the house’s Spring 2013 collection. The full, princess-like silhouette of the crimson dress was a departure from her usual pared-back looks and showed how Valentino Red could feel both classic and bold. It remains one of her most memorable award-show moments in Valentino.