Valentino: The Man Who Painted Fashion Red

Small Atelier, Big Dream

Valentino Garavani did not invent red; he patented its attitude. In 1959 the 27-year-old opened a 250-square-foot workshop on Rome’s Via Condotti with money borrowed from his father, installed three sewing machines and hung a brass plaque that now reads like a fashion theorem. One year later Giancarlo Giammetti joins—romance & business fuse—and Valentino is officially born.

Three years later, Florence’s Palazzo Pitti staged the first haute-couture collection. In under an hour every look was sold; French Vogue responded by devoting its next cover to the unknown Roman, crowning Italy as the new epicentre of elegance.

Birth of Valentino Red

In Spring of 1959, strapless tulle gown “La Fiesta” hits the runway. Inspired by Spanish opera and the warmth of Barcelonan evenings, the hue is later catalogued as Pantone 18-1443—an everlasting signature.

Red on the Red Carpet
Celebrities functioned as accelerant. Elizabeth Taylor wore a red Valentino gown for the 1960 Spartacus premiere, Jackie Kennedy Onassis was photographed in a red organza day dress outside Manhattan’s 1040 Fifth Avenue in 1970, and Princess Diana landed in Hong Kong on 11 November 1992 wearing a custom burgundy velvet gown whose train pooled like spilled wine. Each appearance generated measurable spikes in worldwide press mentions, establishing the red carpet as an unpaid distribution channel decades before social media.

The Farewell
After 48 years Valentino staged his final couture presentation in January 2008: 40 models, 40 red gowns.

Creative direction passed first to the duo Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pierpaolo Piccioli (2008-2016), who preserved couture volumes while inserting lighter lace and ankle-grazing hemlines that translated formal codes into daily wear. Piccioli’s solo tenure (2016-2024) introduced the fluorescent “Pink PP” palette and oversized silhouettes without eliminating the obligatory red closing look, demonstrating chromatic evolution inside genetic continuity.

Alessandro Michele, appointed 2024, mines the archive for 18th-century brocades, re-scales vintage rose prints and overlays multiple eras in single silhouettes. He is a master for his archival reverence and reinvention of iconic motifs such as 18th century silhouettes and archival prints - infusing them with a whimsy and eclectic layering.

One colour, one atelier, one eternal lesson: glamour can indeed be bottled. He will be forever remembered as a legend of couture; his iconic silhouettes and valentino red helped shaped and inspired generations.