Legendary Italian fashion designer Valentino Garavani has died at his home in Rome. He was 93 years old.
Italian fashion legend Valentino Garavani, whose elegant evening gowns were favored for decades by some of the world's most glamorous women, has died at 93, according to his foundation.https://t.co/6BkoUmtrfK pic.twitter.com/hTIzr8G05s
— CNN Breaking News (@cnnbrk) January 19, 2026
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Italian fashion legend Valentino Garavani, whose elegant evening gowns were favored for decades by some of the world’s most glamorous women, has died at 93, according to his foundation. He “peacefully passed away today at his residence in Rome, surrounded by the love of his family,” a statement posted to Instagram said.
In a post on Instagram, his foundation said that Valentino will lie in state from January 21 to 22 from 11 am to 6 pm local time.
Valentino was born in 1932 in Voghera in the Italian province of Pavia to parents Teresa de Biaggi and Mauro Garavani. He was named after actor Rudolph Valentino. Valentino moved to Paris to study fashion, apprentacing for both Jacques Fath and Balenciaga. He left Paris in 1960 and returned to Rome where he opened a fashion house. In July of that year, Valentino met Giancarlo Giammetti and the two became friends and partners.
In 1962, Valentino made his international debut in Florence, but it wasn't until 1964 when Jacqueline Kennedy saw some of Valentino's work and met privately with the designer. She ordered six of his haute couture dresses in black and white, which she wore during her year of mourning following the assassination of John F. Kennedy. Valentino would later design the gown Kennedy wore when she married Greek tycoon Aristotle Onassis.
Valentino, Giancarlo Giammetti e Jacqueline Kennedy
— Francesco Troncarelli (@effetronky) January 19, 2026
Capri, 1970 pic.twitter.com/mh6osaDSLc
Through the 60s, 70s and 80s, Valentino continued designing clothing for celebrities including Elizabeth Taylor, Joan Collins, Audrey Hepburn, and Queen Paola of Belgium.
In the 1970s, he spent a lot of time in New York City, where he became friends with artist Andy Warhol and Vogue Editor Diana Vreeland.
R. I. P. Valentino!
— Style minds (@style_minds) January 19, 2026
Thank you for the most beautiful red dresses! pic.twitter.com/Zg2GDV84Ax
His influence extended into the 1990s, when he dressed supermodels including Claudia Schiffer and Naomi Campbell. His designs also showed up on the red carpet, where Jane Fonda, Julia Roberts, Jennifer Lopez, and Cate Blanchett wore Valentino dresses. Both Roberts and Blanchett won Oscars the year they wore Valentino gowns (2001 and 2005, respectively). In 2002, Anne Hathaway wore a Valentino gown and was accompanied by the designer himself.
Valentino Garavani
— Yashar Ali 🐘 (@yashar) January 19, 2026
1932-2026 pic.twitter.com/oy3z33HGpT
Valentino was fond of pug dogs and owned six of them at one time, all with M names: Maggie, Margot, Maude, Milton, Molly, and Monty.
🔴San Valentino🔴 pic.twitter.com/3oBwpedjAU
— Edu🦂 (@ElEduSandoval) February 14, 2021
In 1998, Valentino sold his company for $300 million, but continued to work until 2008, when he retired with a star-studded fashion show in Paris.
According to People, Valentino was survived by partner Bruce Hoeksema, the former vice president of his fashion house, with whom he lived since 1982.
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