Essenza Valentino, the story of the brand that has made clothes into poetry
That of the Maison Valentino is a great beauty, one of those beyond time and fashions. Fabulous recap of a man, Valentino Garavani, who taught the world what elegance is and who continues to do so today, in the passing of the baton.
THE HISTORY OF THE MAISON VALENTINO
John Fairchild nicknamed him 'The Sheik of Chic' . And how to blame him. Valentino is, and always will be, the one who outlined the contours of elegance with a sure and fluid hand. The designer has transposed a beautiful story onto fabric, the perfect mix of the Italian spirit combined with that all-French attitude always reaching out to beauty and charm. Today the names have changed but not the essence of a brand that continues to give dreams destined to never end. From Valentino Garavani to Pierpaolo Piccioli and Maria Grazia Chiuri , the fabulous recap of the Roman maison, owned by the Qatar-based Mayhoola fund since 2012, which enchants Hollywood and the international jet-set just like in a modern fairy tale.
Scroll down to discover the incredible story of the Valentino brand with L'Officiel Italia.
Valentino Clemente Ludovico Garavani in 1950 was only 17 years old when he arrived in Paris to study fashion at the École des Beaux-Arts and at the Chambre Syndicale de la Couture Parisienne. Clear ideas and a talent to channel into the right formula. Balenciaga , Jean Dessès and Guy Laroche are the ateliers where he works, refines the techniques and absorbs the complex dynamics of an elitist, sophisticated world frequented by peculiar personalities, to which Valentino Garavani is naturally predestined.
A year after opening his atelier in Rome in via Condotti, Valentino Garavani met Giancarlo Giammetti in 1959, then a student of architecture and with whom he began to write the story of a brand that would become a symbol of that aristocratic elegance in perfect balance between romance and audacity. Giancarlo Giammetti takes care of every managerial aspect of the company while the couturier works on the collection that will seal the brand's official debut. In July 1962, under the lights of the sumptuous Sala Bianca of Palazzo Pitti in Florence, and in front of an exclusive parterre, a series of exquisitely tailored evening dresses paraded. It was an overwhelming success and for the first time French Vogue decided to dedicate the cover to an Italian designer.
Maybe carmine, but not purple. And no, it's not even fiery red. Rosso Valentino is now a registered trademark with a very precise color formula: a blend that calibrates 100% magenta, 100% yellow with just 10% black. So much for the imitators. Legend has it that the couturier, during the Parisian years, was fascinated by the solemn atmosphere of the Barcelona Opera, including the guests dressed in red. And it was like a flash of lightning. That red remains so imprinted on him, or rather, it gets so under the skin that it becomes the only possible color capable of competing with another winning colour, the graphic duo of black and white. In 2007, on the occasion of the exhibition " Valentino in Rome: 45 years of Style", curated at the Ara Pacis by Patrick Kinmonth and Antonio Monfreda, 300 mannequins shaped around the silhouette of the swan neck of Princess Marella Caracciolo, were set up and dressed in the master's masterpieces in red. All-encompassing Valentine.
Scroll down to discover the incredible story of the Valentino brand with L'Officiel Italia.
Who are the Val's Gals
Valentino style frames an absolute concept of elegance that has little to do with short-term seasonal trends. The couturier's fashion has the task of providing an aesthetic memory of absolute beauty through the passage of time. From the choice of floral design fabrics to the polka dots, from the abstract and then doubled initials that anticipate the decorative concept of the logo , these are all indicative choices of an aptitude for wanting to interpose exactly halfway between ornament and message. Valentino dresses in the 60s have trapeze shapes, bows and flowers, are in chiffon and seduce the eye with a sophisticated use of transparencies. The 70s of the revolution are condensed in the crooked and asymmetrical cuts of the skirts; finally, it is the power suit that imposes the well-known rigid shapes and structured shoulders on the Valentino silhouette of the 80s.
In 1979 Valentino chose New York and Studio 54 to present and launch Viva Jeanswear , a young and up-to-date line immortalized by Bruce Weber. And if denim isn't exactly a fabric that easily fits into the Valentino lexicon, it has nonetheless become a hybrid space in which to experiment. With the project with Levi's within the spring summer 2021 collection . Pierpaolo Piccioli revisits a pair of historic Levi 's jeans, the 1969 517 boot cut, the only ones the designer loves to wear.
When in 2001 Julia Roberts receives the Oscar for Best Actress for the film Erin Brockovich - Strong as the truth, it was like a double victory: for the actress the most coveted recognition from Hollywood that counts, for fashion the incipit of a new vein, the rediscovery of archival choices. That night Julia Roberts chose to wear not an unprecedented creation but a Valentino dress from the Haute Couture collection presented nine years earlier, 1992. Preceding her in 1993 was Lorella Cuccarini in Sanremo on the Ariston stage together with Pippo Baudo. A lot of magic is condensed in a black velvet, silk and tulle dress defined by a V neckline and a continuous ivory line along the entire silhouette. For Julia Roberts and the dress was obviously a success. To this day it is considered one of the most iconic fashion dresses in the history of the Oscars. To the point that there is even a dedicated Wikipedia page of that Valentino dress . Since it is not a fashion house open to made-to-measure services, in 2012 the breaking of the rule arrives: only for Anne Hathaway , adored like a daughter, Valentino designs her wedding dress, a dream in silk, tulle and flowers on soft pink cady today still inspiration for many brides to be.
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Valentino and the world of cinema, not just behind the scenes
If in Robert Altman's famous film Prêt-à - Porter of 1994, the lights and shadows of the fashion world thus laid bare made several stylists present in Paris wrinkle their noses, including Valentino Garavani, in 2006 with The Devil Wears Prada by David Frankel, he is the only designer to play the role of himself, as well as to sign Meryl Streep 's outfit in the scene in which they appear and act together. Filmmaker Katharina Otto anticipates Valentino's recent debut on the scene with Beautopia (1998). Fascinated by how in the 90s the dream of becoming a top model replaced the teenage dream of making it as an actress, she is preparing to document her frenetic and wonderful life with many designers in the background, including Valentino Garavani. In 2008 the silver screen will definitively crown him the last emperor of fashion and beauty as well as reaffirm the dedication to the mission of creator that has never failed in almost half a century of activity. Valentino: the Last Emperor, a film directed by Matt Tyrnauer, documents better than other mediums the last act of Monsieur Garavani's glorious life as a fashion designer. This extraordinary portrait will be followed by two other always delicious video appearances. In Zoolander 2 during the Valentino show presided over by Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pierpaolo Piccioli and in Franca: Chaos and Creation , a documentary film written and directed by Francesco Carozzini and presented at the Venice Film Festival in 2017.
The identifying symbol of Valentino Rockstud shoes is the stud . Square, cruciform and metallic, it pays homage to ancient Rome and to the "rustic" technique of the facades of noble palaces. In 2010 Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pierpaolo Piccioli, fresh from their appointment as creative directors, after a year by Alessandra Facchinetti, launch what will be the most profitable product in the brand's modern history. Between 2014 and 2019, says The Fashion Law, sales of Rockstud shoes will bring in over $152 million. The Valentino Rockstuds make their debut in the autumn-winter 2010/11 collection, leaving the public both surprised and captivated. A simple and refined design, yet rippled by that pungent element of the square stud, is the perfect synthesis of that elegant, sensual and incisive vision by Valentino only. And then there's the heel, rigorously kitten or ultra flat. Obviously there is the high 10cm version, but we all agree on which one is the most convincing. Six years after the studded Valentino shoes , the coordinated bag also arrives. Accompanied by an equally "rebellious" campaign curated by Terry Richardson, the Rockstud Bag loved by Valentino fans is launched on the market, now reinterpreted with a very special project by Bethony Vernon. In October 2020 Piccioli launches Valentino Garavani Rockstud X a creative container that celebrates the tenth anniversary of the Valentino Garavani Rockstud accessories line. International designers and artists are invited to offer your own interpretation of the “Stud”, where the English designer Craig Green leads the way.
Scroll down to discover the incredible story of the Valentino brand with L'Officiel Italia.
In 2008 the duo Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pierpaolo Piccioli, from being responsible for the accessories area - Valentino himself summoned them for that role in 1999 - became creative directors of the Roman Maison. We owe them the rebirth of the brand thanks to an accurate reinterpretation of the DNA accompanied by a vision of luxury and more contemporary elegance. It is a prolific co-direction that was interrupted in 2016 when the long partnership that lasted twenty-five years, first as students at the IED in Rome, then at Fendi and finally at Valentino, opens up to new opportunities for professional growth. Surprisingly, Chiuri said goodbye to the company to become the first woman in the creative direction of Christian Dior , thus leaving the helm at Valentino alone to Piccioli.
From the hand of Valentino Clemente Ludovico Garavani to that of Pierpaolo Piccioli, the magic remains the same. In July 2007, on the occasion of the celebration of the 45th anniversary of the Maison Valentino, suspended dancers dressed in red float in front of the Colosseum under a magical Roman starry sky. In 2020, at Cinecittà, it is Piccioli who presents the Haute Couture autumn winter 20/21 collection assisted by the skilful hand of the photographer and art director Nick Knight. Ethereal figures wrapped in white silk, organza and taffeta whirl, to the poignant singing of FKA Twigs, suspended in the velvety darkness of the film studios. When you say the wavelength. Since the brand has moved on, there have been positive signs and prestigious awards: in 2015 the creative duo Chiuri-Piccioli received the CFDA International Award; in 2017, by now the only Creative Director, Piccioli was named Designer of the Year during the third edition of the InStyle Awards. Another Designer of the Year award follows in 2018 at the Fashion Awards 2018 in London. Last but not least, in 2020, adds a new CFDA International Womens Designer of The Year Award presented by none other than Council of Fashion Designers of America President Tom Ford .
1959: Valentino opens his Atelier in Rome
1962: it is the international debut at the Sala Bianca of Palazzo Pitti in Florence
1967: among the Italian designers awarded in Dallas with the prestigious Neiman Marcus Fashion Award, the doors will definitively open for him on the American luxury market
1968: the White Collection makes its debut and breaks the aesthetic flow of those years based on bright colors. The concept of logo made with initials was born
1976: Valentino chooses to show his boutique line in Paris to leave Haute Couture in Rome. In 1989 he moved that too to Paris.
1978: The prèt-à-porter line is born, thanks to the collaboration with the Gruppo Finanziario Tessile and, at the same time, the maison's first perfume named Valentino Classique makes its debut
1979: The first Valentino jeans are launched on the market in New York: Viva Jeeanswear is the name of the line
1986: Oliver by Valentino arrives, a young and fresh second line, a tribute to the beloved homonymous pug whose face will also become its logo.
1999: Valentino Garavani himself asks Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pierpaolo Piccioli to become managers of the Valentino, Valentino Garavani accessories area.
2003: Chiuri and Piccioli are appointed co-creative directors of the new young line REDValentino , an acronym for Romantic Eccentric Dress. In May 2021 the company releases a press release regarding its closure in the next 2024 with the autumn winter 23/24 collection.
2007: on October 3rd in Paris Valentino Garavani presents his latest spring summer 2008 collection. It is the year of celebrations and of the Valentino exhibition in Rome: 45 years of Style.
2008: on 23 January in Paris at the Musée Rodin the latest Haute Couture collection by Valentino Garavani is staged with a moving finale. Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pierpaolo Piccioli become the Co-Creative Directors of all the Maison's lines
2011: Valentino Garavani Virtual Museum makes its debut. A digital experience that illustrates for the first time the brand's fifty years of fashion history.
2012: Mayhoola for investments, a Qatari fund, acquires the Valentino brand from Permira for a consideration of 710 million euros
2015 The film Zoolander 2 arrives and for the launch of the film the leading models Derek Zoolander and Hansel, the actors Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson, walk the catwalk by surprise at the Valentino Fall/Winter 2015-16 show wearing two looks from the Men's Spring/Summer 2015 Collection .
2016: After the departure of Maria Grazia Chiuri for Dior Pierpaolo Piccioli is appointed sole Creative Director of Valentino
2017: Piccioli is elected Designer of the Year during the third edition of the InStyle Awards
2018: Won the Designer of the Year award at the 2018 London Fashion Awards
2020: in September Piccioli in support of the Italian Fashion System, and due to obvious logistical complications due to the pandemic, presents the spring summer 2021 collection in Milan at the end of the fashion week, thus leaving Paris dry-mouthed. At the same time Voce Viva Valentino makes its debut, the latest perfume of the Maison and with Lady Gaga as testimonial.
