Fashion designer Valentino Garavini has sadly died today – 19 January 2026 – at the age of 93, in Rome. The Italian icon, renowned for his elegant style, had a fantastically long and successful career that spanned six decades. He famously dressed the likes of Jacqueline Kennedy, Elizabeth Taylor and Princess Diana in the last century, as well as Kim Kardashian, Victoria Beckham and Julia Roberts.
His Foundation, which he established with Giancarlo Giammetti in 2016, said in a post on Instagram this evening: “Valentino Garavani passed away today at his Roman residence, surrounded by his loved ones.”
Valentino met Giancarlo in 1960, and the two became business and life partners. Despite winning multiple awards and creating a business empire, “fame and fortune didn’t change him. He is still the little guy I met 45 years ago”, Giancarlo said of him in 2006, a couple of years before he retired.
Valentino Clemente Ludovico Garavani was an only child, born just south of Milan in 1932.
Tributes have poured in with 1990’s supermodel Helena Christensen being one of the first to say: “Such wonderful memories with this beautiful talented man and genius ❣️❣️❣️”
Valentino and his time under the French Riviera sun
Valentino famously loved sun tanning, but lesser known is that he was once fired for lingering a little too long on the beaches of the French Riviera. After studying in Paris, Valentino was working as an assistant for a Parisian couturier, Jean Dessès, when he took a holiday to Saint-Tropez in 1957. (This was just a year after the film ‘And God Created Woman’ had made the fishing village and its star, Brigitte Bardot, world famous.)
Valentino was having so much fun that he extended his holiday and ended up being fired for returning to work “a little late”, he told Harper’s Bazaar in 2007. He said: “I arrive (back in Paris) a little late. They say to me, ‘Valentino, we love you very much, but…'”
His talent was already obvious though, and he was snapped up by Guy Laroche within 12 hours.
Valentino went on to become a regular visitor to St Tropez and the Côte d’Azur, often preferring to stay in private villas or on his yacht. And of course he opened boutiques along the French Riviera, including in St Tropez and the glamorous resort town of Cannes.
When and where will Valentino’s funeral be held?
According to a message on the Fondazione Valentino Garavani e Giancarlo Giammetti social media page:
The lying in state will be held at: PM23 in Piazza Mignanelli 23, on
- Wednesday 21 January, from 11:00 to 18:00.
- Thursday 22 January, from 11:00 to 18:00.
The funeral will take place the following day, at the Basilica Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri, in Piazza della Repubblica 8 in Rome:
- Friday 23 January at 11:00.
Our thoughts are with Valentino’s family, friends and loved ones.
