Valentino Women

If there was one fashion designer to successfully combined the stylish appeals of Parisian fashion and the classic haute couture of Italy, it would definitely be Valentino Garavani. Born in Voghera, Italy, which is a town north of Milan, he grew up displaying early interest in fashion, as evidenced by his early sketches and the strong desire to study design and art.

When he was 17 years old, he moved to Paris and took up French lessons as well as attending formal training at Ecole des Beaux Arts and Chambre Syndicale de la Couture Parisienne. Soon he found a number of fulfilling apprenticeship jobs under Jean's Dresses, helping out the fashion designer Jacqueline de Ribes sketch all her ideas for dresses and gowns, Then as he moved on upwards in the fashion ladder, he was able to land a position in Guy Laroche fashion house.

Having gained a degree of experience and expertise, he later returned to Rome and promptly opened up a small atelier, then soon made a strategic move to Condotti where he was discovered by famous celebrities during the filming of “ Dolce Vita” With his natural flair for creating stunning pieces of women's clothing that later earned him the title of being hailed as the Golden Boy of Italian Couture.

It was in 1962 when the formally launched the very first Valentino women's collection in Pitti Palace that were largely attended by foreign retailers and fashion critics and was met with wild acclaim. Among the famous creation of Valentino dresses were the “no color” collection where models with predominantly dressed in pale shades such as white, cream, sand, beige, chalk and ecru. This was a rather bold move on Valentino's part at that time since psychedelic colors was the fashion rage. This particular collection astounded many fashion critics and experts with its sheer subtlety and power and soon provoked a whole new binge on all-white fashion, as was principally seen in most of the Valentino clothing collection.

After several successes, the Valentino women's collection expanded to stockings featuring the use of lace, embroidered feathers, embossed in chains and artfully decorated in flowers. As he pushed the limits of fashion further, he was usually met with arched eyebrows and a significantly thick air of anticipation as the whole world wait in bated breath as what this creative genius could possibly think of next.

With his far-reaching success and fame, he enjoyed the prestige to design dresses for the elite members of society such as the divine creation worn by Jackie Kennedy when she tied the knot with the tycoon Aristotle Onassis. This particular design features a white mini-dress with lace that further fueled yet another fashion trend with women scampering to get a white mini-dress of their own. Since then the fashion icon, Jackie O. became of her regular clients and has been frequently seen wearing a number Valentino's creations collection in various media appearance s and red carpet events.

In 1969, he launched his own Valentino women's ready to wear collection in Milan, which was made available to the consumer market. Valentino was responsible generating several fashion trends such as the famous gypsy look back in the 60's that featured lavish embroideries, knotted fringes, mixed prints and full-bodied skirts. It was only in the 70's that he incorporated his “V” logo in his designed which became a legendary fashion symbol attached to all Valentino designer brands, as embossed in seams and pockets.

When Valentino took on a business partner by the name of Giancarlo Giammetti, the latter proved to be an entrepreneurial genius that led to the impressive expansion and success of the fashion house on a global scale. Today, Valentino designer wear and luxury items are made available in a vast network of distribution channels located all over the world.

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