Rome, Italy – One of the top fashion designers of his era, Italy’s elegance aficionado Valentino Garavani spent nearly half a century dressing the world’s great beauties, from Jackie Kennedy to Princess Diana, before his death Monday at age 93.
“Valentino Garavani passed away today at his Roman residence, surrounded by his loved ones,” wrote his Rome-based foundation on social media.
A funeral is planned for Friday in the Italian capital, with a lying in state on Wednesday and Thursday.
Best known as just Valentino, the designer’s creations – many of them in “Valentino red” – were worn by the who’s who of the international elite, from Elizabeth Taylor, Audrey Hepburn, and Nancy Reagan to Sharon Stone, Julia Roberts, and Gwyneth Paltrow in recent years.
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When the empress of Iran Farah Pahlavi escaped the country during the 1979 revolution, she was wearing a coat made by Valentino.
Dubbed “the Sheik of Chic” by Women’s Wear Daily in the 1980s, Valentino was celebrated by the New York Times in 1997 for his “single-minded dedication to glamor.”
On the catwalk and in his own life, Valentino exuded luxury down to the last detail of his immaculate hairdo and caramel tan.
With his five pet pug dogs and a private jet, he shuttled between his Roman palace, New York apartment, chateau near Paris, chalet in Switzerland, and his 164-foot yacht.
