Valentino Garavani, Italian Designer Who Dressed Jackie Kennedy, Dies at 93

Valentino Garavani, the Italian couturier whose red gowns defined red-carpet glamour for half a century, died Monday at his home in Rome at age 93, his foundation announced. The cause was not immediately known, CNBC reported.

Born in Voghera, in northern Italy, he studied fashion in Milan and Paris and worked for the designer Jean Dessès before starting his own house in Rome, according to CBS News and CNBC. CBS dated the founding to 1959, while CNBC said 1960; both outlets agree that the house grew into one of the most recognizable names in luxury fashion. He was known for ruffles, bows, lace, embroidery and, above all, a vivid shade of red that CNBC said he introduced in 1959, with at least one red dress in every collection.

His clients were a catalog of mid-century and modern celebrity. CBS News listed Sophia Loren, Gina Lollobrigida, Elizabeth Taylor and Audrey Hepburn among his early customers, and later Princess Diana and Madonna. CNBC said he designed Taylor’s wedding gown and had dreamed of dressing stars such as Judy Garland and Lana Turner. Both outlets said he dressed Jacqueline Kennedy. CBS reported that she wore his long-sleeved lace dress for her 1968 wedding to Aristotle Onassis and for a time wore mostly his designs.

His American ties ran through Hollywood. CBS described him as the go-to designer for the Academy Awards red carpet and said Julia Roberts wore a vintage-style Valentino column dress when she won Best Actress in 2001, and Cate Blanchett wore one of his gowns when she won Best Supporting Actress in 2005. CNBC named Sharon Stone among the Oscar winners who chose him. CBS reported that in 1970 he became the first Italian designer to open a shop in New York, and that Diana Vreeland, the American Vogue editor, mentored him early in his career.

He built the business with his partner, Giancarlo Giammetti, who handled management while Valentino led the creative work. They met in a Roman cafe in 1960, CNBC said, and the documentary “Valentino: The Last Emperor” chronicled their partnership. Both outlets reported that the two sold the company in 1998 or soon after for an estimated $300 million, and that he stayed on as designer until retiring in 2008. CNBC said his last runway show was in Paris in January 2008.

“I know what women want: they want to be beautiful,” he once said, as quoted by CNBC. CNBC also quoted him announcing his retirement: “I have decided that this is the perfect moment to say adieu to the world of fashion.”

The brand has since changed hands. CBS reported that Qatar’s Mayhoola owns most of the label and that the French luxury group Kering holds 30 percent, with an option to take full control in 2028 or 2029; CNBC said Kering’s commitment to buy the rest, once due this year, was deferred to 2028 at the earliest. Alessandro Michele now leads design, and Richard Bellini became chief executive last September, according to CBS.

CBS reported that his body will lie in repose at his foundation’s Rome headquarters on Wednesday and Thursday and that the funeral will be held Friday at the Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri in Rome.