Valentino
For over 60 years, Valentino has been known for its glamour and femininity. In 2024, Alessandro Michele was named its creative director, ushering in a new era that redefines Valentino Garavani’s famous edict, “I know what women want. They want to be beautiful,” for a new generation. Michele has described his work as a way to pursue “an ideal of beauty and ambiguity that revives in bodies forgotten identities.”
In 1959, after studying in Paris and working with Jean Dessès and Guy Laroche, Garavani opened his atelier in Rome. His dresses were clean and modern yet unabashedly feminine—with bows, flowers, ruffles, lace, embroideries—always in the finest fabrics, always molto elegante. In his first collection, there appeared what would become his signature: a dress the color of poppies, later known as Valentino red.
Garavani and his right-hand man, Giancarlo Giammetti, built an empire. Among the luminaries orbiting Valentino’s chic salon were the stylish socialites Marella Agnelli and Jacqueline de Ribes, as well as Gina Lollobrigida and Sophia Loren, sirens of Cinecittà Studios. Hollywood actresses Elizabeth Taylor and Audrey Hepburn also called upon the Roman couturier.
After announcing his retirement in 2007 at the age of 75, Garavani was quickly succeeded by Alessandra Facchinetti, who after 13 months was replaced by a duo already working in-house as the brand’s accessories designers: Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pierpaolo Piccioli. They proved to be a winning combination, ushering in a new era at the Roman label with a loyal group of famous actresses, musicians, and other glitterati wearing their signature bold and minimal gowns on the red carpet, and an equally enthusiastic group of everyday women who couldn’t get enough of their Rockstud heels.
In 2016, shortly after the pair won the CFDA International Award, Chiuri departed to become the first female designer to helm Christian Dior, leaving Piccioli as Valentino’s sole creative director. During his tenure, the house became known for its diverse casts and bold approach to color that favored minimal architectural shapes. Piccioli’s fall 2022 collection, devoted exclusively to a shade of fuchsia dubbed “PP Pink” coincided with the rise of the Barbie marketing extravaganza, capturing the zeitgeist in the process. After 25 years—and a legendary show held at Rome’s Spanish Steps—in 2023, Piccioli announced he would be stepping down as creative director, leaving behind a vivid legacy for his successor to continue.
