Fashion File - Valentino

Fashion File - Valentino Haute Couture - Designer

Valentino - Spring/Summer 2008

This season the fashion industry witnessed the end of an era when Valentino Garavani retired from the runway business. Fashion File was there to wish him well…

Valentino Haute Couture - Spring/Summer 2007

Perhaps celebrating his 45th year in business in July spurred Valentino to travel back in time for his Spring/Summer 2007 couture collection. Entitled "A Whiter Shade of Pale," Valentino drew inspiration from his historic 1968 all white show featuring the infamous wedding dress worn by Jackie Kennedy when she married Aristotle Onassis.

Valentino - Spring/Summer 2007

Traditionally regarded as catering to a clientele made up of billionaire wives, Valentino extended his circle to include not only the ladies who lunch, but their privileged, oh so fashionable daughters.

Valentino Haute Couture - Fall/Winter 2006

Imagine for a minute you are a European aristocrat, or a well-bred New England socialite with a full fall schedule of charity benefits, galas in Paris and balls in Monte Carlo. This is what you will wear. Valentino may have officially been referencing Russian palaces and their opulent decoration but this haute couture collection was truly a showcase of the skills of his Roman atelier.

Valentino - Fall/Winter 2006

Leave it to Valentino who, after 40 years in the industry, decided to shake up his image by imparting a fresh urban twist on Paris Fashion Week. Valentino’s latest collection for Fall/Winter 2006 was a study in contrast, mixing 80s-inspired graffiti print alongside his signature monochromatic black, white and red.

Valentino Haute Couture - Spring/Summer 2006

A fiery desert landscape served as the perfect backdrop for Valentino’s elegant spring/summer haute couture show. Desert winds breezed over the
runway and through weightless tiers and ruffles so masterfully draped. And while a single red dress is certainly a Valentino signature, it's details like delicate lacework and intricate beading that mark the hand of this seasoned couturier.

Valentino - Spring/Summer 2006

At Valentino, elegance is never just a trend for a season – it’s a way of life. His press notes this spring suggested that he wanted to “stand apart from the fake couture dominating runways the past few seasons”, and that he accomplished with a light collection filled with Valentino signatures: skinny cropped pants, feminine tailoring, and plenty of the white dresses that launched his career almost forty years ago.

Valentino Haute Couture - Fall/Winter 2005

As fickle as fashion can be, some things never change. After forty-five years in the business, Valentino Garavani is still working in black, white and red, still ignoring the trends, and still dressing the most refined women in the world.

Valentino - Fall/Winter 2005

Valentino is very much part of the old school – believing women should be well put together anytime they are seen in public. He has even gone so far to criticize some actresses for being out and about in their workout gear. But Valentino’s idea of daywear isn’t for your average soccer mom unless she’s ready to sport velvet jeans and a crocodile jacket.

Valentino Haute Couture - Spring/Summer 2005

Valentino is the first name of glamour for a reason. Take a look at the collection that the Hollywood A-list shopped for Oscar gowns.

Valentino - Spring/Summer 2005

Though last season at Valentino we saw a slightly tougher, more masculine approach, it appears Valentino wanted to make a softer statement with this collection. Drawing inspiration from his customers, Valentino showed bright, fresh, and beautifully groomed looks expressing himself in colours not typically associated with the Valentino label.

Valentino - Fall/Winter 2004

For his latest collection Valentino claims inspiration from the severe sensuality of the late great photographer Helmut Newton. So black and white was key but with classy and beautiful splashes of color that are all Valentino. The collection features lots of fur, accessories and gowns that look ready for the Hollywood red carpet. Like the Newton pictures that inspired him, Valentino’s collection is classic and timeless.

Valentino Haute Couture - Fall/Winter 2004

Valentino is a master of old world luxury and he sees no reason to tone down the opulence in his designs which are perfect for the red carpet. This season’s show attracted media maven, Oprah Winfrey whose presence intensified the celebrity quotient.

Valentino Haute Couture - Spring/Summer 2004

In the program notes for his latest haute couture collection, Valentino talks about a little arrogance being an asset for a couture woman. Now that sounds a little arrogant, doesn’t it? But, it makes perfect sense when you see the clothes. Adding added ‘sex’ to his spring collection gave Valentino’s repertoire of suits, cocktail dresses and grand evening gowns a younger, naughtier appeal.

Valentino - Spring/Summer 2004

In this spring season of extreme femininity, even Valentino has turned it up a notch. Simple nautical silhouettes quickly gave way to a rainbow of colours, ribbons and lace. With an emphasis on separates and a girlish sensibility, this collection was driven by a few key pieces meant to blatantly appeal to his clients’ most basic desires.

Valentino Haute Couture - Fall/Winter 2003

Valentino couture has always been about stylish dressing for the self-assured and well heeled. This season, Sir Val topped even himself with his precise tailoring, opulent detailing and rich embellishment. The theme of the show was the glitz and glamour of Hollywood’s past; the clothes on the runway however, were infused with a modernity that was definitely aimed at Hollywood’s future. From great looking suits and coats for day, to the full-length knockout gowns for night, his clothes had timeless chic. This season, Valentino definitely concentrated on what he does best: classical clothes that sizzle.

Valentino - Fall/Winter 2003

When you’ve been in business as long as Valentino, you learn a thing or two about reading the cultural climate. With the Parisian collections anchored in the power of beauty this season, Valentino Garavani has always been there. Blending a strong silhouette and a light-handed feel for glamour, his collection for fall showcased why Hollywood young and old come to him for clothes that let them shine.

Valentino Haute Couture - Spring/Summer 2003

With the ranks of couture’s masters shrinking by the minute, Italian designer Valentino Garavani occupies an ever-significant place as one of couture’s great masters. For Spring 2003, he showed a beautifully executed Haute Couture collection that was a reflection of couture’s art and the refinement of traditional Indian techniques and shapes. Who would have guessed the final days of the Raj reworked through a Roman atelier would produce wonderfully wearable couture?

Valentino - Spring/Summer 2003

In a season where some designers have chosen to make an Anti-War statement, Valentino has elected to make an Andy Warhol statement for spring 2003.
Pulling away from signature flourishes, Valentino’s graphic glamour also appeared in his prints, where a personally-owned piece by Willem de Kooning inspired a new series of prints that marked strong new territory for the designer.

Valentino - Fall/Winter 2002

Valentino shifted the emphasis from the lady in red to the goddess in gold this season. Gold glittered through his collection; from the deluxe daywear to the glamourous eveningwear to the gilded accessories.

Valentino - Spring/Summer 2002

Valentino, the master of fabulous frocks, was dancing to a Latin beat this season with his sizzling sensuous spring collection. Heavily decorated with ruffles, embroidery and corsets, these dresses are sure to draw attention. Red is Valentino's signature colour and for the first time he added other colours to his palette for more punch.

Valentino Haute Couture - Spring/Summer 2002

With 41 years in the business, designer Valentino Garavani is the acknowledged emperor of couture for the jet-set, young and old. Timeless glamour is the Valentino signature. For Spring 2002, his couture gowns displayed an aura of mock innocence, combined with opulent operatic splendour. With the use of light-as-air fabrics and whimsical Philip Treacy-designed hats, Valentino gave the collection a fresh, youthful, upbeat look, much appreciated by those ladies who do lunch.