Every fashion house has its signature piece: Miu Miu has the ballet flats, Ralph Lauren has the polo shirt, and Valentino has his red dress.
Since Valentino Garavani founded his eponymous brand in 1959, he desired to create modern and feminine clothes, and the red dress came to epitomize his vision. Red became a color synonymous with Valentino, and we cannot imagine the brand without it.
If you want to learn more about the history of Valentino and one of the most iconic fashion pieces ever created, today, we invite your to learn about the history of Valentino’s signature red dress.
The History of The Valentino Red Dress
The first Valentino Red Dress
The very first red dress by Valentino was introduced in the Spring-Summer 1959 collection. Called “La Fiesta”, it was a strapless, mid-length tulle dress in a bright red color that would quickly become a signature for the brand. The party dress was an instant success and is the one that made Valentino famous in the first place.
Which shade is Valentino’s red dress?
The bright red shade, resembling a poppy flower, became known in the industry as the “Valentino red”.
Valentino’s red dress has the rare distinction of having its own Pantone color – a mix of 100% magenta, 100% yellow, and 10% black.
Why is the Valentino dress red?
The passion for red came to Valentino Garavani when he was a teenage boy. He regularly attended the opera in Barcelona with his father. One day, he went to see George Bizet’s Carmen, during which he had an epiphany.
“All the costumes on the stage were red… All the women in the boxes were mostly dressed in red, and they leaned forward like geraniums on balconies, and the seats and drapes were red too… I realized that after black and white, there was no finer color,” the founder once said.
Valentino was charmed by one particular woman in a red gown sitting at the show.
“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,” the designer told Vogue.
The meaning of the red dress for Valentino
Valentino has included a red dress in each of his collections since his debut one in 1959.
It’s quite rare for a brand to be associated so strongly with a single color. We can think of the Hermès orange, the color of the brand’s packaging boxes, and Burberry’s beige because of its signature trench coat, but only a few brands managed to make a color their “own”, like Valentino. Having a signature color, besides signature pieces, makes the brand even more recognizable and unique.
This is what the red dress means for Valentino, in the founder’s own words:
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’s last collection
In 2007, Valentino Garavani decided to retire and leave the future of his house in the hands of new creative directors. To celebrate his life’s work, every model wore a red dress in his final Spring/Summer 2008 Haute Couture collection.
The Legacy of Valentino’s Red Dress
Although Valentino Garavani no longer designs at his brand, the red color has still been present after his departure.
The new creative directors – Alessandra Facchinetti (2007-2008), the Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pierpaolo Piccioli duo (2008 – 2016), and Pierpaolo Piccioli solo (2016-2024) maintained the prestige and desirability of the Valentino red dress and color in their ready-to-wear and Haute Couture collections.
Valentino Rosso Book
In 2022, Valentino published a book dedicated to its iconic red color. Titled “Valentino Rosso”, the 304-page book tells the story of the 180 red dresses and accessories that have defined Valentino’s history.
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