Valentino Garavani’s Lasting Red Carpet Legacy

Throughout his career, the late Valentino Garavani was beloved by the stars, dressing everyone from influential first ladies (Jackie Kennedy wore many of his gowns) to buzzy Oscar winners (in 2001, Julia Roberts picked up her Academy Award in a black and white Valentino dress of velvet, tulle, and silk piping).

The designer recognized the power of celebrity early on, his name quickly becoming synonymous with luxury and glamour. And the stars he worked with loved him for making them look—and feel!—so good on the world’s biggest, most closely scrutinized stages.

Jackie Onassis in 1979

Photo: Getty Images

Favoring silhouettes that felt both elegant and romantic, Garavani defined what a Hollywood starlet should look like. Often, that meant nodding to the past: just take the minty green, one-shouldered dress—somewhat reminiscent of a ’60s-era caftan—that Jennifer Lopez wore to the 2003 Oscars. But Garavani could be rigorously modern, too, as in 2006, when he dressed Scarlett Johansson in a body-skimming red gown that fashion spectators still talk about today. (Valentino Red was his color, after all.)

Jennifer Lopez in 2003

Photo: Getty Images

Though he formally retired in 2008, the spirit of enchantment that Garavani brought to celebrity dressing remains today—not least because his own designs still regularly appear on the red carpet. For last year’s Vanity Fair Oscars Party, model Kaia Gerber wore a chiffon Valentino gown from spring 1997 with a cascading cape. Despite being almost 30 years old, the butter-yellow color and sheer construction felt utterly au courant. Such was the magic of Valentino Garavani: he made dresses that could live on in the spotlight forever.

Below, some of the most memorable Valentino looks of all time.