The city of Rome is preparing to bid its final farewell to Valentino Garavani, the legendary fashion designer who passed away at age 93 on Monday. The iconic creator, known universally by his first name, will lie in state at his foundation in Piazza Mignanelli on Wednesday and Thursday, situated mere steps from the renowned Spanish Steps—a symbolic location reflecting his deep connection to the Italian capital.
Valentino’s funeral services will be conducted on Friday at the Basilica di Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri in central Rome, drawing international attention from the fashion world and beyond. The designer, often referred to as Italian fashion’s ‘last emperor,’ maintained his atelier in Rome throughout his career while predominantly presenting his collections in Paris.
Throughout his nearly half-century career, Valentino became synonymous with high-glamour elegance and his signature shade of red, dressing generations of royalty, first ladies, and Hollywood celebrities. His clientele included style icons from Jackie Kennedy Onassis to Julia Roberts and Queen Rania of Jordan, all of whom praised his ability to make them appear and feel their absolute best.
Rome Mayor Roberto Gualtieri honored Valentino as one of ‘Italy’s most luminous and beloved figures,’ emphasizing the designer’s profound ties to the Eternal City. The public viewing is expected to attract hundreds of fashion luminaries, government officials, and ordinary citizens wishing to pay their respects.
Valentino established his fashion house on Rome’s prestigious Via Condotti in 1959, and his fail-safe designs eventually made him the undisputed king of red carpet fashion. His sumptuous gowns graced numerous Academy Awards ceremonies, most memorably when Julia Roberts accepted her Best Actress Oscar in 2001 wearing a vintage black and white column dress, and when Cate Blanchett won Best Supporting Actress in 2005 in a butter-yellow silk creation.
Alessandro Michele, the current creative director of the Valentino fashion house, posted on Instagram that he continues to feel Valentino’s ‘gaze’ as he prepares the next collection, which will be presented in Rome on March 12—a departure from the traditional Paris venue, further cementing the designer’s enduring legacy in the city he called home.