On 2 February 2002, Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands married Máxima. The bride wore a beautiful wedding dress made by Valentino.Who is this wonderful fashion designer, which is the history of this house and which are/were the royal clients? Check it in this fashion blog post.
Who is Valentino?
Valentino Clemente Ludovico Garavani (born 11 May 1932), known as Valentino, is an Italian fashion designer and the founder of the Valentino brand and company.
Valentino was born in Voghera, in the province of Pavia, Lombardy, Italy. His mother named him after screen idol Rudolph Valentino. He became interested in fashion while in primary school in his native Voghera, Lombardy, northern Italy, when he apprenticed under his aunt Rosa and local designer Ernestina Salvadeo, an aunt of noted artist Aldo Giorgini.
Valentino then moved to Paris to pursue this interest with the help of his mother Teresa de Biaggi and his father Mauro Garavani. There he studied at the École des Beaux-Arts and at the Chambre Syndicale de la Couture Parisienne.
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Fashion history
His first choice for an apprenticeship, in Paris, was Jacques Fath, then Balenciaga. He found an apprenticeship with Jean Dessès where he helped Countess Jacqueline de Ribes sketch her dress ideas. He then joined Guy Laroche for two years.
At a Rome exhibition in 1991 a smattering of them went on display and then-current clients such as Marie-Hélène de Rothschild and Elizabeth Taylor marvelled that the DNA of Valentino's
style was already apparent in the layers of white pleats and animal prints.
After five years, Valentino left Jean Dessès over an incident about prolonging a vacation in Saint-Tropez that still makes him uncomfortable today. Rescued by his friend Guy Laroche, he joined his "tiny, tiny" fashion house. After discussions with his parents, he decided to return to Italy and set up in
Rome in 1959, as pupil of Emilio Schuberth and then collaborated with Vincenzo Ferdinandi's atelier before opening his own fashion house.
In 1960 Valentino left Paris and opened a fashion house in Rome on the posh Via Condotti with the backing of his father and an associate of his. More than an atelier, the premises resembled a real "maison de haute couture". Everything was very grand and models flew in from Paris for his first show.
Valentino became known for his red dresses, in the bright shade that became known in the fashion industry as "Valentino red".
On 31 July 1960, Valentino met Giancarlo Giammetti at the Café de Paris on the Via Veneto in Rome. One of three children, Giammetti was in his second year of architecture school, living at home with his parents in the haut bourgeois Parioli section of Northern Rome. That day Giammetti gave Valentino a lift home in his Fiat and a friendship, as well as a long-lasting partnership, started. The day after, Giammetti was to leave for Capri for vacation and, by coincidence, Valentino was also going there, so they met again on the island 10 days later. Giammetti would shortly thereafter abandon the University to become Valentino's business and life partner. When Giammetti arrived, the business situation of Valentino's atelier was in fact not brilliant: in one year he had spent so much money that his father's
associate pulled out of the business, and had to fight against bankruptcy.
At some point in 1964, Jacqueline Kennedy had seen Gloria Schiff, the twin sister of the Rome-based fashion editor of American Vogue and Valentino's friend Consuelo Crespi, wearing a two-piece ensemble in black organza at a gathering.
Jacqueline Kennedy at a diner at the White House
Source picture: Wikipedia
In September 1964, Valentino was to be in the United States to present a collection of his work at a charity ball at New York's Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. Mrs. Kennedy wanted to view the collection but could not attend the event, so Valentino decided to send a model, sales representative and a selection of
key pieces from his collection to Mrs. Kennedy's apartment on Fifth Avenue.
Mrs. Kennedy ordered six of his haute couture dresses, all in black and white, and wore them during her year of mourning following President John F. Kennedy's assassination.
Throughout the 1970s Valentino spent considerable time in New York City, where his presence was embraced by society personalities such as Vogue's editor-in-chief Diana Vreeland and the art icon Andy Warhol.
1990 marked the opening of the Accademia Valentino, designed by architect Tommaso Ziffer, a cultural space located near Valentino's atelier in Rome, for the presentation of art exhibitions. The next year, encouraged by their friend Elizabeth Taylor, Valentino Garavani and Giancarlo Giammetti created
L.I.F.E., an association for the support of AIDS-related patients, which benefits from the activities of the Accademia Valentino.
In 1998 Valentino and his partner Giancarlo Giammetti sold the company for approximately US$300 million to HdP, an Italian conglomerate controlled, in part, by the late Gianni Agnelli, the head of Fiat. In 2002, Valentino S.p.A., with revenues of more than $180 million, was sold by HdP to Marzotto Apparel, a Milan-based textile giant, for $210 million. Maison Valentino is controlled since 2012 by
Mayhoola for Investments S.P.C., a holding company sustained by a group of private investors from Qatar. It is present in over 90 countries through 160 Valentino directly operated boutiques and over 1300 points of sale.
On 4 September 2007, Valentino announced that he would retire fully in January 2008 from the world stage after his last haute couture show in Paris. He delivered his last women's ready-to-wear show in Paris on 4 October.
His last haute couture show was presented in Paris at the Musée Rodin on 23 January 2008. It was, however, somewhat marred by his criticism of fellow Italian design duo Dolce & Gabbana, and the death of Australian actor Heath Ledger, although few allowed these things to detract from his
final show, which received a standing ovation from the entire audience that included hundreds of notable names from all areas of show business. Many models returned to attend Valentino's last haute couture show; the audience included Eva Herzigová, Naomi Campbell, Claudia Schiffer, Nadja Auermann, Karolína Kurková and Karen Mulder.
In 2012–2013 a major new exhibition opened at Somerset House in London celebrating the life and work of Valentino, showcasing over 130 exquisite haute couture designs.
In September 2007, Valentino decided to leave the Creative Direction of his brand. Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pierpaolo Piccioli were first nominated Creative Directors of all accessories lines, and the following year, they were appointed Creative Directors of Valentino, guiding all collections, from
Prêt-à-Porter to Haute Couture. In June 2015 the Creative Directors were bestowed with the prestigious CFDA International Award, recognition that paid homage to the professional path and to the success of the Maison. On 7 July 2016 Maison Valentino nominated Pierpaolo Piccioli its sole Creative Director of the Maison.
Who are/were the royal clients of Valentino?
Belgium
When Prince Amedeo of Belgium married Elisabetta Rosboch von Wolkenstein in Rome, the bride wore Valentino. More on this link.
In 1966 a picture was taken when Queen Paola of Belgium (then Princess Paola) left the Valentino Fashion House in Rome.
On the National Day in 2019 at the walk in the Warande Park in Brussels, Queen Mathilde of Belgium wore a floral Valentino dress. More on this link.
Denmark
Crown Princess Mary attended the Creative Summit 2021 by wearing a midi skirt made by Valentino. More on this link.
Jordan
Queen Rania of Jordan also has a Valentino gown in her royal collection.
Monaco
Princess Grace of Monaco sat at the front row of his fashion shows in the 70's.
Princess Charlene of Monaco also wore some Valentino dresses inter alia a red one.
Norway
Crown Princess Mette Marit of Norway often is spotted with a Valentino dress.
Qatar
Sheika Mozah of Qatar often wears Valentino.
Spain
Queen Letizia of Spain wore a Valentino dress made in the 1970's for her mother-in-law, Queen Sofia. See this link.
Sweden
Princess Madeleine of Sweden also chose Valentino to design her wedding dress.
The Netherlands
Máxima chose Valentino to design her Wedding Dress!! They met each other during the state visit to Italy. More about her wedding on this link.
source picture: koninklijk huis
Princess Beatrix wore a dress made by Valentino silk.
United Kingdom
Valentino was a friend of Diana, Princess of Wales. Of course she had a red Valentino dress too. See this link.
Source picture: Wikipedia
Meghan, Duchess of Sussex also likes to wear Valentino. She wore a red dress in Morocco. See this link.
Conclusion
Real fashion always survives. It's nice to see how for example Queen Letizia rewears an amazing beautiful dress from her mother-in-law Queen Sofia. I hope we'll see more Valentino in the future
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