The Tamesis
“Valentino, live to be a hundred!” Jacqueline Kennedy declared in 1966. The fashion designer almost did just that: his death at the age of 93 was announced today.
Valentino Garavani has the rare distinction of having his own Pantone color, Valentino Red. Valentino once said: “When you see a woman wearing a beautiful red evening dress, it’s really special.” Since showing his first red dress, the Fiesta, in 1959, he has proven this time and time again. (Pierpaolo Piccioli paid homage to this dress in his fall 2022 couture collection for the brand.)
“Valentino’s fetish has become a status symbol. He once did red and now every collection has red,” his business partner Giancarlo Giammetti told us Fashion In 1985, “Much of what we say is because we’re romantic; we don’t like to throw away things we like or things that bring good luck.” In honor of the designer, we’re revisiting the collection of wealth-bringing red dresses first assembled to mark his 90th birthday.
