fashion
Meusburger Renè
fashion, but also the history of "Made in Italy" for the strategic decisions
and commercial innovations which have marked the legendary growth of his
House of Fashion from the original "atelier" dimension to the nowaday's
status of fashion empire.
Valentino Garavani was born in Voghera, north of Milan. While attending high
school he shows a precocius artistic temperament and soon becomes interested
in fashion. He takes courses in fashion design and studies French to prepare
himself to move to Paris, at that time world capital of clothing and
culture. After a few years' apprenticeship "like at university" in the
Fashion House of Jean Dessès and Guy Laroche, Valentino returns to Rome at
the beginning of the 1960's to open his own atelier. Those are the years of
the "dolce vita": Many Hollywood stars, who have come to Rome for the
shooting of films, discover Valentino and determine his quick fame.
Valentino's international debut takes place in 1962 in Florence, the then
capital of italian fashion. His first show at the Pitti palace is welcomed
as a true revelation and the young couturier is submerged by orders from
foreign buyers and enthusiastic comments on the press.
By 1965 Valentino has aòready established himself as the leader of italian
fashion. In 1967 he receives in Dallas, Texas the Neiman Marcus Award,
equivalent to the Fashion Oscar. But his official consacration among the
worlì's top fashion designers arrives in 1969, with the "Whitel Collection",
which also marks the introduction of his V logo on buttons, pockets and
accessories. Valentino's clothes appear on the covers of both TIME and LIFE
magazines and the already prestigious circle of his clients and friends is
further extended to some of the most important ladies in the world, such as
Jacqueline Kennedy, Princess Margaret, Elizabeth Taylor, Farah Diba, Marella
Agnelli, the Begum Aga Khan and so forth.
At the end of the 1960's Valentino meets Giancarlo giannetti, an
architecture student who abandons university to become his business partner.
Giammetti's entrepreneurial genius will prove fundamental to the worlwide
expansion and success of the House.
By 1972 Valentino has already launched his women's and men's ready-to-wear
collections and has opened his first boutiques in Rome and Milan. He extends
the range of the products bearing the Valentino signature and is the first
italian designer who inaugurates a policy of licensing agreements for the
production and commercialization of his lines on international markets. He
is also the first fashion designer in the world to use the cooperation of
the most famous photographers for his advertising campaigns.
In 1978 Valentino launches his perfume during a gala in Paris, where guest
star Mikhail Baryshnikov dances Tchaikowski's La Dame de Pique at the
théatre des Champs Elisées.
In the 1980's Valentino establishes operative branches in the USA and in
Japan, followed by the opening of a chain of Valentino boutiques in those
two countires.
The first artistic biography of Valentino is published in 1982 by Franco
Maria Ricci. The identification of his work with the world of art continues
in the same year, when the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York opens for
the first time its door to fashion with a Valentino show.
In 1984 Valentino celebrates his jubilee and receives a special award from
the Italian Ministry of Industry. On that occasion he is officially invited
at the Quirinale Palce by The President of the Italian Republic. Also in
1984 he is chosen to design the Italian athletes' uniform at the Olympic
Games in Los Angeles.
In 1985 Valentino conceives and produces and exhibition," Atelier of
Illusion", consisting of the most outstanding costumes used by famous opera
singers at the Scala Theater. The exhibition is housed at the Castello
Sforzesco in Milan with the direction of Giorgio strehler and is inaugurated
by the Italian Prime Minister.
In 1986 Valentino is appointed by the President of the Italian Republic
"Cavaliere di gran Croce": the Italian highest official award.
1989 is marked by the opening of the "Accademia Valentino", a cultural space
located near his couture atelier in Rome, for the presentation of art
exhibitions.
In 1990, upon the encouragement of their friend Elizabeth Taylor, Valentino
Garavani and Giancarlo Giammetti create L.I.F.E., an association for the
support af AIDS related patients, which benefits from the activities of the
Accademia Valentino.
In 1991 Valentino celebrates in rome his thirtieth anniversary in fashion
with two spectacular events which represent the official entry of his
creations into the Italian artistic patrimony. The Mayor of Rome organizes
in his honor an exhibition at the Musei Capitolini including an important
selection of his original drawings, photographs and paintings on his work by
the world's most famous photographers and artists. Valentino himself
organizes at his "Accademia" a retrospective exhibition of his most
significant creations with over three hundred dresses.
The exhibition, named "Valentino: Thirty Years of Magis", reflects the
essence of the Valentino style and his souces of inspiration mainly drawn
from art and its applications, from nature, from folk and zoological themes,
and his love for emblematic colors such as white, the symbol of dreams and
red (the famous Valentino red) as the symbol of life. The exhibition is an
impressive fresco of the history of Italian fashion and entrepreneurial
ability. For its worth and resonance, "Valentino: Thirty Years of Magic" is
invited to New York in 1992 to represent Italy at the Comumbus celebrations.
In less than two weeks of exhibition in New York, "Valentino: Thirty Years
of Magic" totals 70,000 visitors. The amounts deriving from the sale of
entrance fees and merchandise are donated by Valentino to the New York
Hospital for the building of a new wing of the AIDS Care Center.