Valentino
Valentino is an Italian fashion house, founded in 1960 by fashion designer Valentino Clemente Ludovico Garavani (1932).
Index
- The origins: Valentino Garavani
- The first fashion show
- Valentino and the Hollywood stars
- The sale of the company
- 40 years of career
- The entry in Marzotto Group
- The new lines
- Farewell to the catwalks
- Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pierpaolo Piccioli
- From the closing of RedValentino to the return to Paris
The origins: Valentino Garavani
From an early age, Valentino Garavani showed to have an idea of style and elegance. It is a measure that emerges clearly in the first dress she created for her Aunt Rosa, owner of a trimmings shop in Voghera, in via Torino, where she loved to spend the afternoons playing with the patches.
Ever since then he had a preference for red: a color which would later become his lucky charm and the star of his palette. He understood this when, during his apprenticeship at Jean Dessès, in Paris, he went to the Barcelona Opera and was struck by the all red stage costumes:
I understood at that moment that, after black and white, there is no more beautiful color.
At 17 he leaves Voghera to learn fashion in Paris. The speed in sketching figures immediately earned him the hiring from Dessès, where he worked until 1955. Then he moved on to Guy Laroche , where the apprenticeship lasted until 1957. He returned to Italy to open, in 1960, with the help of his father, an atelier in Rome, in via Condotti. His debut takes place in Rome, on the sly: it’s a fiasco, not even a sold suit.
The first fashion show
In those years he met Giancarlo Giammetti, the architecture student who would be his manager, his administrator and his communication man. In 1962, in Florence, Valentino was the last to parade at Palazzo Pitti’s Sala Bianca . The hall overwhelmed him with a roar of applause.
My mother said, “Do you hear them? They want you, because you made it, you won ”. After less than an hour, they had bought the entire collection and I was overwhelmed with orders.
Since then, his successes followed one another on time, season after season. «Americans go crazy for this Italian who has become king of fashion in a short time», was written in 1968 in the Woman Wear Daily, after a dazzling all-white show, dotted with cloaks, barely draped dresses.
Creativity is difficult to explain, it is like an internal force, an enthusiasm that never goes out and that gives me the strength to always work in a new way. Looking at things, people on the street, imagination walks and the idea takes shape through the pencil.
Valentino and the Hollywood stars
His volcanic flair, at the service of women and refined elegance, leaves an indelible mark on the jet set: Farah Diba escapes his empire wearing a Valentino; Liz Taylor meets Richard Burton wearing a Valentino; Jackie Kennedy marries Onassis in her ivory lace dress, which has been copied for years. The list of celebrities that Valentino dresses is endless: from Sofia Loren to Nancy Reagan, from Brooke Shields to Sharon Stone. Few have resisted the charm of his clothes, a synthesis of luxury and grace modulated with modernity.
He managed to reinvent the bows, turning them into the symbol of femininity: one of her first dresses embellished with this detail got a legendary ten-minute applause. Absolute master of the trade, of the technique, he has transformed this artisan virtue into a compass to always keep the course of continuity.
In 1970 he launched his first prêt-à-porter SS 1971 collection, through a production agreement with the Gruppo Finanziario Tessile. In 1975, he brought his winter collections to the Paris catwalks. His success has never had push-ups, he is immune to thuds and resurrections. In addition to professional successes, the fashion designer is also satisfied by the creation, in 1990, of Live Foundation, aimed at raising money to help children affected by Aids.
In the same year the designer celebrated his 30 years of activity in Rome and Milan, with an exhibition at the Valentino Academy, a space designed and equipped for exhibitions and cultural events.
The sale of the company
In January 1998, the «Rolls Royce of fashion designers», as the Americans call it, sold the brand for 500 billion (the maison‘s annual turnover is 1200 billion) to HDP , through tears and remaining at the creative peak. The fashion designer said:
I saw too many colleagues leave the back door of their atelier, to make way for new creatives who then distorted the original style of the maison …
In 1999, immediately after the acquisition, Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pierpaolo Piccioli took on the role of Creative Directors for the accessories line.
Valentino is a shy man, but he also knows how to argue with style and irony. When the American journalist Suzy Menkes , terror of fashion designers, decreed the end of supermodels in 1990, criticizing those who chose them, Valentino replied by buying an advertising page in the Herald Tribune. «Suzy, you got it all wrong. Love from Valentino and the top models» was the slogan, at the foot of a photo which portrayed him together with Claudia Schiffer, Nadja Auermann and Elle McPherson.
40 years of career
In 2001 Valentino, beloved by Hollywood stars, chooses to celebrate his 40 years of work in Los Angeles. The charity party (it raises funds for Child Priority) is organized together with Steven Spielberg and Kate Capshaw, Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson. During the evening, the Red Book of Valentino is presented, curated by Franca Sozzani and including the images of 40 women (including Ashley Judd, Ines Sastre, Isabella Rossellini, Kate Moss and Milla Jovovich) dressed in “Valentino red” and portrayed by the most important photographers of the time.
In the same year, in March, Julia Roberts receives her Oscar wearing a vintage Valentino dress and shining in her black silk on all the mass media of the world, helping to launch what will be one of the most significant fashion trends of recent years: the vintage .
In February 2002 the company represented Italy, the historic and rare ability of his country to sublimate creativity and craftsmanship with taste and superior elegance, during the closing ceremony of the Salt Lake City Winter Olympics, broadcast worldwide.
The entry in Marzotto Group
In March 2002, after negotiations and rumors, HDP sells the Roman griffe to the Marzotto Group, which pays 240 million euros, including the financial debts accumulated in recent years, which at 31 December 2001 amount to 204.4 million euros. Valentino Intimate and Valentino Sand are the first fruits of the new course: with a three-year license agreement, the Como-based Albisetti takes over the worldwide production and distribution rights of the underwear and beachwear collections for men and women. The new lines debut at Lingerie Americas, the first sector event organized in the United States, which from 4 to 6 August 2002 will host 22 Italian underwear brands at the Pavillion & Altman Building in New York.
The new lines
In the first two months of 2003, Marzotto recorded a 1.8% increase in turnover, largely attributable to the consolidation of Valentino. In May the brand, with a series of his cult dresses, takes part in the My favorite dress exhibition at the Fashion & Textile Museum, the London fashion museum commissioned by fashion designer Zandra Rhodes in the Bermondsey district, south of the Thames. Launch the Valentino Timeless watches and the REDValentino youth line (where RED stands for Roman Eccentric Dressing). The latter reinterprets its unmistakable timeless models, such as those of jeans, but also of its more classic pieces, such as the short Jackie coats or the V Logo of 1968, now part of the history of fashion.
The success of the watch line makes the brand propose, in 2004, also a line of jewelry. 2005 opens with the debut of the V Valentino fragrance, created in collaboration with Procter & Gamble. During the year, the diversification of the offer expands to 360 °: so they appeared, for example, the licensing agreement with the Spanish Pronovias for the production and marketing of a line of wedding dresses, and the alliance with Arnolfo di Cambio for the creation of a line for the home dedicated to the art de the table. Meanwhile, substantial corporate reorganizations involve Valentino S.p.A. and its subsidiaries, giving rise to the Valentino Fashion Group, which sees the light at the end of the year.
Farewell to catwalks
At the beginning of 2006 Matteo Marzotto becomes president of Valentino S.p.A., while the position of managing director goes to Stefano Sassi. After the important reorganization of the group, culminated in 2007, with the entry of the Permira private equity fund , the year is dedicated to grandiose celebrations for the master’s nine lustrums of activity. A retrospective entitled Valentino in Rome is inaugurated at the Ara Pacis: 45 years of style , in conjunction with the July Haute Couture show. Predictably, in September the designer’s farewell to the catwalks is announced : in October his latest collection is shown in Paris, amid standing ovation and general emotion.
The designated heir for womenswear is Alessandra Facchinetti , fresh from a collaboration with Gucci and Moncler Gamme Rouge, while the menswear collection is entrusted to Ferruccio Pozzoni. Meanwhile, Valentino allows himself a last bath of the crowd with the Haute Couture show in January 2008, at the Musée Rodin, which coincides with his departure from the company. At the end of 2008, however, the end of the collaboration between Alessandra Facchinetti and the maison was announced.
Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pierpaolo Piccioli
Furthermore, in 2008, Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pierpaolo Piccioli, already creators of the brand’s accessories line, took over the Creative Direction of the clothing line: in 2009, indeed, the collaboration with Ferruccio Pozzoni ends too.
On 7th September 2011 Anna Wintour gave Valentino the 2011 Couture Council Award for Art in Fashion, in New York. Valentino doesn’t renew its liaison with Safilo and signs an international license agreement with Marchon, with effect from 1st January 2012, for the production and distribution of sunglasses and eyeglasses. In January 2012 the Valentino maison is the special guest of Pitti Uomo 81 in the Fortezza da Basso in Florence. Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pier Paolo Piccioli present the 2012/13 FW men’s collection, showing for the first time.
Il 7 settembre 2011, a New York Anna Wintour consegna a Valentino il premio Couture Council Award per l’Arte nella Moda. Valentino non rinnova la liaison con Safilo e sigla un accordo di licenza internazionale con Marchon, con decorrenza dal 1 gennaio 2012, per la produzione e distribuzione di occhiali da sole e vista. Nel gennaio 2012 la maison Valentino è l’ospite speciale di Pitti Uomo 81 nella Fortezza da Basso di Firenze. Maria Grazia Chiuri e Pier Paolo Piccioli presentano la collezione uomo A/I 2012-13, sfilando per la prima volta.
The acquisition from Mayhoola
In 2011 Valentino celebrates its 50 years and launches a new concept of store, inaugurated in february 2012 in Milan in via Montenapoleone 20. The innovative boutique was designed by architect David Chipperfield, together with Chiuri and Piccioli.
In 2012 the brand was purchased by Mayhoola for Investments S.P.C. for 600 million euros. At the end of the year the brand launched the Valentino Garavani Virtual Museum, which opens a window on the world of the fashion designer.
On 7th July 2016 Maria Grazia Chiuri left the company, after 17 years of partnership and 8 year of co-Creative Direction: so Pierpaoli Piccioli was appointed Creative Director for womenswear collections too.
Pierpaolo Piccioli at the solo guide
In October 2016 the first prêt-à-porter SS 2017 collection was presented under the sole direction of Pierpaolo Piccioli. In the same year, the license of the second line passes to Staff International, one by OTB. It was also signed a license with Luxottica Group, for the eyewear collections. The new agreement, lasting ten years, has been operational since January 2017.
From the closing of REDValentino to the return to Paris
In 2020, due to COVID-19, Valentino, whose CEO Stefano Sassi is replaced by Jacopo Venturini, registered a loss of turnover of 28 &, only balanced by its online sales, which instead grew of 62 %.
When the brand decided to close his flagship store in the Fifth Avenue, in Manhattan, because of the loss of sales due to the pandemic, the owner of the store sued Valentino for 207,1 million euros, equivalent of 16 years of rent, which 12,9 million, due to the restoration of some parts of the store, were added.
Moreover, it was decided to close REDValentino line in 2024. The CEO commented in this way:
The aesthetic vision of our creative director, combined with the artisanal spirit of the workmanship and the excellence in execution, harmonizes perfectly with new technologies and future objectives. The inputs to which customers, or our friends of the house, are exposed every day are many. In such a scenario, the concentration of messages on one and only one brand will be able to support a more organic growth of the maison.
At the same time, however, Venturini announces Valentino’s eco-friendly turnaround, with the exclusion of fur from the collections. Valentino Polar, which produces animal fleece, ended its production in 2021.
The sale to Kering
In July 2023 Kering acquire 30 % of the brand, paying 1,7 billion euros. Mayhoola kept its majority shareholder position, but future perspectives involve the complete acquisition from French conglomerate, within 2028, and the shareholder of the Qatar investment company in the French one.
Valentino reported preliminary revenue of €1.42 billion ($1.56 billion) last year; according to Reuters, the luxury brand’s total revenue in 2022 increased by 10% at constant currencies. Based on its performance, this indicates that Mayhoola’s strategy for Valentino is turning a profit.
The Farewell of pieraolo piccioli
The farewell of Creative Director Pierpaolo Piccioli was announced on Friday, 22 March 2024, after 25 years of association between the fashion house and the designer.
“Maison Valentino and its Creative Director Pierpaolo Piccioli announce their joint decision to end their collaboration. Since 2016, Pierpaolo Piccioli, in the role of Creative Director, has significantly influenced the path of the Maison with his vision, dedication, and innovative spirit, influencing a crucial chapter in the company’s history.”
It is not yet certain who will replace him, but speculation is leaning towards the name of Alessandro Michele, Gucci’s historic creative director.
New Creative Director: Alessandro Michele
Alessandro Michele will take over Pierpaolo Piccioli’s position as the creative director of the Maison. The first collection proposed by Michele for Valentino will be the Spring/Summer 2025 during the Paris Fashion Week in September 2024.
His official entry will take place just after Easter, on Tuesday, April 2, 2024, and the designer will work in Rome at the studio in Palazzo Mignanelli, just moments from Piazza di Spagna and only a 10-minute walk from his residence.
“My first thought goes to this story: to the richness of its cultural and symbolic heritage, to the sense of wonder that it constantly generates, to the precious identity given with their most unrestrained love by the founding fathers, Valentino Garavani and Giancarlo Giammetti. These references have always represented for me an essential source of inspiration, and I will praise such influence through my interpretation and creative vision.”
Furthermore, with Valentino, Michele will finally have the opportunity to dedicate himself to Haute Couture, of which we will likely see the first collection in January 2025. Not to mention that with this entry, the designer will be rejoining the Kering group, to which Gucci also belongs.
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