Master of Italian elegance, Valentino Garavani passed away at 93, leaving the world a legacy of timeless grace.

Valentino Garavani, the master of Italian elegance and one of fashion&rsquo;s greatest storytellers, has passed away at the age of 93, leaving behind a legacy defined by timeless beauty and quiet authority.
He died in Rome, the city where his career was born and where he rose to legendary status. At 93, the undisputed emperor of Italian style has left the world stage, yet his name remains permanently woven into the language of beauty. More than a fashion designer, Valentino was a creator of dreams, shaping silhouettes that transcended trends and decades without ever losing their relevance.
Rome will honour him with a final tribute on Wednesday, 21 January, and Thursday, 22 January. His funeral will take place on Friday, 23 January, at the Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli. It is a farewell worthy of a man who transformed fashion into a universal language, spoken effortlessly from New York to Paris, Florence to Hollywood.
Valentino&rsquo;s story cannot be told without Giancarlo Giammetti, his life partner and closest collaborator. Their meeting in 1959 marked the beginning of one of the most influential creative partnerships of the 20th century. Garavani&rsquo;s artistic instinct was perfectly balanced by Giammetti&rsquo;s strategic vision. Together, they built a fashion house where elegance was not just an aesthetic, but a discipline and a promise. The landmark 1962 show at the Sala Bianca in the Pitti Palace announced Italy&rsquo;s arrival on the international haute couture stage, earning acclaim from Vogue and unanimous praise from the global press.
From the revolutionary White Collection of 1968 to the unmistakable Rosso Valentino, the shade that became his signature, Valentino consistently wrote defining chapters in fashion history. John Fairchild famously called him &ldquo;The Sheik of Chic&rdquo;, recognising his almost mythic authority over the very idea of elegance. Each gown felt deliberate, each runway show carefully composed, each detail precise and never excessive.
In later years, as age took its toll, Valentino stepped back from daily creative work while remaining a guiding presence within the house that bears his name. As noted by WWD and The Wall Street Journal, his influence never faded. Designers such as Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pierpaolo Piccioli carried forward his vision, preserving its essence through restraint, grace and emotional depth.
Valentino did not simply dress bodies. He shaped an ideal, a form of beauty that never raised its voice, yet commanded attention all the same. As the fashion world mourns, his work endures, luminous and intact, a quiet lesson offered to time itself. Valentino Garavani may be gone, but elegance continues to speak in his name.

Valentino Garavani, the Icon Who Defined Italian Elegance, Dies Aged 93

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Valentino Garavani, the Icon Who Defined Italian Elegance, Dies Aged 93

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