Valentino Garavani Dies at 93, Leaving an Enduring Legacy of Elegance in Global Luxury

The world of luxury bids farewell to Valentino Garavani, who passed away yesterday in Rome at the age of 93, according to those close to him. His death was due to natural causes, after a period of declining health related to age. With his passing, one of the most influential creative journeys in modern fashion history comes to an end, that of a designer who transformed haute couture into a universal cultural language and elevated elegance into a discipline of absolute precision.

Founder of Valentino, Valentino built from Rome an unmistakable aesthetic vocabulary defined by impeccable tailoring, reverence for craftsmanship and a mastery of color that turned “Valentino red” into a global symbol of luxury. From his international breakthrough in the 1960s to his creative retirement in 2008, his work consistently defended patience, artisanal excellence and beauty as non-negotiable values, even as the industry moved toward speed and spectacle.

Over several decades, he dressed some of the most influential women of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, securing a permanent place in contemporary social and cultural history. Among them were Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, whose wardrobe and wedding dress firmly established the maison’s international prestige; Audrey Hepburn, the embodiment of timeless refinement; Elizabeth Taylor, a symbol of Hollywood glamour; Sophia Loren, who represented Mediterranean beauty at its highest expression; Princess Diana, whom he accompanied during her aesthetic transformation; and later generations of cinema icons including Gwyneth Paltrow, Julia Roberts, Anne Hathaway and Charlize Theron, who carried his legacy onto the red carpets of the new millennium.

Key milestones define his enduring impact: the founding of his house in Rome at the end of the 1950s, international recognition after his Florentine shows, the creation of Valentino red as a defining visual code, decades of dominance in haute couture, the early separation between creative authority and corporate ownership after the sale of the company in 1998, and a voluntary retirement at the height of his career, a rare decision in the fashion world. His life and vision were further immortalized in the documentary Valentino: The Last Emperor, which expanded his influence beyond the confines of the industry.

The passing of Valentino Garavani leaves a profound creative void, but also a clear path ahead for the future of luxury: devotion to craftsmanship, respect for time and an understanding of fashion as living cultural heritage. His legacy will endure through the archives, the codes of the house he founded and an ethical vision of creation that will continue to guide those shaping the luxury of tomorrow without abandoning its roots.