Valentino is one of the most recognizable and prestigious luxury brands in the world and was founded by Valentino Garavani, one of the greatest fashion designers of our time.
From the signature Red Dress to Valentino White and PP Pink, Valentino’s ready-to-wear, Haute Couture and menswear, the brand’s iconic shows, and the different creative directors, let’s explore the history and evolution of Valentino.
The History And Evolution Of Valentino
When Was Valentino Founded
Valentino Clemente Ludovico Garavani was born on May 11, 1932 in Voghera in the Lombardy region in Italy. He loved fashion since he was a child, so at the age of 17, he decided to move to Paris to study at the prestigious École des Beaux-Arts and at the Chambre Syndicale de la Couture Parisienne.
After his studies, Valentino Garavani became an apprentice at Balenciaga, Jean Dèsses, and Guy Laroche. Then he returned to Rome in 1959 to set up his own studio in the Via Condotti with the help of his father and introduced his first ready-to-wear collection. In 1960, Valentino met Giancarlo Giammetti, who became his partner in business and in life. Together, they founded Maison Valentino the same year.
Valentino History Timeline
Valentino’s First Fashion Show
The first couture collection by Valentino was presented in 1962 at the Pitti Palace in Florence.
The couturier soon became recognized as the leading force of Italian fashion. He drew the attention of socialites and aristocratic women from all over the world and was also called on to dress the most glamorous movie stars and royalty of the day, like Jacklyn Kennedy-Onassis, Princess Diana, Audrey Hepburn, and Elizabeth Taylor.
Valentino Red Dress
Valentino’s red dress is, undoubtedly, the strongest signature element of the Italian House, and we cannot imagine the brand without it. Introduced in the first Spring-Summer 1959 collection, “La Fiesta” was a strapless, mid-length tulle dress in a bright red color that would quickly become a signature for the brand. In fact, Valentino has the rare distinction of having his own Pantone color, Valentino Red – a mix of 100% magenta, 100% yellow, and 10% black.
From then on, every Valentino collection featured a red dress. “He did red once, and now you have red in every collection. Most of our statements came to be because we are romantic; we don’t like to throw away things we like or that bring good luck,” Giancarlo Giammetti told Vogue in 1985.
This passion for red came to Valentino Garavani when he attended an opera in Barcelona in his student years, and a woman in a red gown caught his attention. “Enthralled, I saw a woman with grey hair in one of the boxes, very beautiful, dressed in red velvet. Among all the colours worn by the other women, she looked unique, isolated in her splendor.’” […] “I told myself that if I were ever going to become a designer, I would do lots of red,” he told Vogue.
In 1999, Valentino celebrated his 40 years in fashion by showing 40 red dresses at Rome’s Piazza di Spagna.
To celebrate his final Spring/Summer 2008 Haute Couture collection, every model wore a red dress.
“I think that a woman dressed in red is always magnificent”. “For the Valentino maison, red is not just a colour; it is a non-fading mark, a logo, an iconic element of the brand, a value.” – Valentino Garavani.
Valentino and Jacklyn Kennedy Onassis
Valentino Garavani was a close friend of the former first lady of the United States Jacklyn Kennedy-Onassis and attributes much of his success to her. “She inspired me, supported me during difficult times. With her style, she was able to get people talking about me by getting them to talk about her,” he said. After leaving the White House following her husband President Kennedy’s death, Jackie moved back to New York and in September 1964, Valentino arrived in the city to present a collection of his clothes. Jackie loved it so much she ordered six haute couture dresses and soon after began wearing Valentino almost exclusively, for several years. One of the most memorable Valentino designs she wore was her wedding dress by Valentino when she married Aristotle Onassis in 1968.
Valentino White Collection
The wedding dress of Jacklyn Kennedy-Onassis was a sensation, so the couturier was inspired to design an entire collection dedicated to her in 1968, calling it “my declaration of love for couture.” And so, white became an important color of the House next to Valentino red. “For me, white is a color. It’s the lightness of summer, purity,” said Valentino Garavani.
Valentino First Fragrance
In 1978, Valentino Garavani launched his first namesake fragrance.
Valentino Viva
Even if denim isn’t the first thing that comes to mind when thinking about Valentino, it holds an important place in the brand’s history. The first denim line “Valentino Viva” was introduced in New York in 1979.
Valentino’s Creative Directors
In 1999, Valentino approached Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pierpaolo Piccioli to join the company as accessory designers. The duo instantly revamped the brand’s handbag and eyewear collection.
In 2003, they designed the diffusion line Red Valentino.
In 2007, Valentino Garavani decided to step down as creative director of his brand. He appointed Alessandra Facchinetti to replace him, but just after one year as creative director she was replaced by Pierpaolo Piccioli and Maria Grazia Chiuri who became Valentino’s co-creative directors.
Valentino Rockstuds
One of the most memorable launches under their artistic direction, and one of the main identifying symbols of Valentino, was the Valentino Rockstuds. They made their debut in the Fall/Winter 2010 collection, paying homage to ancient Rome and to the “rustic” technique of the facades of noble palaces, and became the most profitable product in the brand’s modern history. According to Fashion Law, between 2014 and 2019, sales of Rockstud shoes brought the brand over $152 million. The Rockstuds made their triumphant return at the Spring/Summer 2021 runway.
Six years later, Valentino introduced the Rockstud Bag in a campaign curated by Terry Richardson.
In 2012, Chiuri and Piccioli presented their first menswear show as special guests at Pitti Uomo in Florence.
During their tenure at the house, Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pierpaolo Piccioli were responsible for the successful redefinition of the Valentino brand codes and the reinvigoration of the business, which reached revenues of $1 billion in 2015.
Following the label’s Fall/Winter 2016-2017 Haute Couture show in Paris on July 7, 2016, Valentino announced the departure of Maria Grazia Chiuri, making Pierpaolo Piccoli the label’s sole creative director until the present day.
The iconic Valentino Red color is still very present in the designer’s ready-to-wear and Haute Couture collections.
Pink PP
In addition, in the Fall/Winter 2022-23 collection, Pierpaolo Piccioli introduced a new signature color of the brand, the Pink PP. The house collaborated with Pantone Color Institute (becoming the first European luxury fashion to do so) to create the custom individual pink shade. Since then, the creative director started employing the color everywhere, from the collections to the stores.
For the Spring/Summer 2021 collection, Pierpaolo Piccioli paid homage to the brand’s history with denim in a collaboration with Levi’s by revisiting a pair of historic Levi’s jeans, the 1969 517 boot cut.
After 3 years of staging coed shows (when women’s and men’s collections are presented simultaneously), creative director Pierpaolo Piccioli decided to return to staging separate menswear shows. Called “Valentino The Narratives”, the latest runway was held on June 16 in Milan, where the founder Valentino Garavani staged his first menswear show in 1985.
That’s it for the history of Valentino so far. We are curious to see what’s coming next.
Share with us in the comments your favorite moments and collections of Valentino.
Want to learn about the history of other iconic brands? You can check out pieces we wrote about Christian Dior history, Prada, and Bottega Veneta.
