Valentino
Italian luxury fashion house associated with haute couture, red eveningwear, refined tailoring and high-profile celebrity dressing. An Italian luxury fashion house founded by Valentino Garavani and Giancarlo Giammetti, known for couture, ready-to-wear, leather goods, footwear, and its signature Valentino red.
Last updated November 4, 2026
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Overview
Valentino is an Italian luxury fashion house founded in Rome in 1960 by Valentino Garavani, the designer widely known simply as Valentino. The brand developed from a couture atelier on Via Condotti into an international maison offering haute couture, women’s and men’s ready-to-wear, leather goods, shoes, eyewear, accessories and fragrances. Its identity is strongly associated with formal elegance, elaborate eveningwear, precise tailoring, floral and graphic decoration, and the vivid shade commonly called Valentino red. Garavani trained in Italy and Paris before working with Parisian houses including Jean Dessès and Guy Laroche and returning to Rome in the late 1950s. His meeting with Giancarlo Giammetti in 1960 was decisive: Giammetti became the business and operational partner who helped turn the atelier into a scalable fashion company. Valentino gained early international attention through couture clients and high-profile appearances, including Elizabeth Taylor and Jacqueline Kennedy. Kennedy’s adoption of Valentino designs during her period of mourning for President John F. Kennedy, followed by the white wedding dress Valentino made for her marriage to Aristotle Onassis, helped establish the house’s international social and celebrity profile. The company expanded during the 1960s and 1970s, presenting collections in Florence and Rome while building a substantial ready-to-wear business. An all-white 1968 collection, associated with the “V” emblem, reinforced the brand’s visual signature. During the 1980s, Valentino became one of Italy’s most visible fashion exporters, combining couture-level glamour with internationally distributed apparel and accessories. The house also undertook projects beyond its core collections, including uniforms for Italian Olympic athletes and a designer association with Lincoln’s Continental automobile line. Ownership changed several times. Garavani and Giammetti sold the company to HdP Group in 1998. HdP later sold Valentino to the Marzotto Group, and the fashion business was subsequently acquired by Permira. Mayhoola for Investments, an investment vehicle associated with Qatar, later acquired Valentino and remains its owner according to the supplied reference material. The brand has continued operating as a private luxury house. Garavani stepped down as creative director in 2007 and presented his final haute couture show in Paris in January 2008. Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pierpaolo Piccioli subsequently led the creative direction, with Piccioli becoming sole creative director in 2016 after Chiuri’s departure. Alessandro Michele was announced as his successor in 2024. Valentino’s commercial and cultural positioning remains rooted in Italian craftsmanship, couture heritage and occasion dressing, while its contemporary business spans fashion, accessories and beauty across global luxury markets.
History
Valentino Garavani was born in Voghera, Lombardy, in 1932 and developed an interest in fashion during childhood. With support from his family, he moved to Paris at eighteen, studied at the Beaux-Arts and the École de la Chambre Syndicale, and gained experience at Jacques Fath, Balenciaga, Dior, Jean Dessès and Guy Laroche. He returned to Italy in the late 1950s, working in Rome with Emilio Schuberth and Vincenzo Ferdinandi before establishing his own house. Valentino opened his Rome atelier on Via Condotti in 1960. The early business faced financial pressure, but the arrival of Giancarlo Giammetti provided an enduring commercial partnership. Valentino concentrated on couture presentation and a highly polished image, while Giammetti helped develop administration, production and international distribution. The designer’s vivid red evening dresses soon became a recurring signature. Elizabeth Taylor’s early patronage and Jacqueline Kennedy’s adoption of his clothing gave the young house visibility among international society and film figures. The brand made its international fashion debut in Florence in 1962. During the second half of the decade, Valentino broadened his reputation through couture, ready-to-wear and increasingly recognizable house codes. The all-white collection shown in 1968 and associated with the “V” motif became a notable statement of identity. Valentino was also the first Italian designer to appear on the Paris haute couture scene, strengthening the connection between Roman atelier culture and the international couture establishment. In the 1970s and 1980s, the house developed a glamorous vocabulary of tailored clothing, formal dresses, retro references, bold shoulders, monochrome groupings, prints and elaborate eveningwear. It benefited from the expansion of celebrity culture and from the visibility of clients such as Joan Collins. In the mid-1980s, Valentino was described as Italy’s largest fashion exporter in terms of reported international sales. The brand extended its visibility through Olympic uniforms and a designer edition associated with Lincoln’s Continental automobile line. The 1990s combined commercial fashion with cultural activity. Accademia Valentino opened in Rome in 1990 as an exhibition and arts venue. Valentino and Giammetti also established L.I.F.E., an association supporting people affected by HIV/AIDS. Valentino’s formal, couture-oriented work contrasted with grunge, but remained influential among entertainers and society clients. In 1998, Valentino and Giammetti sold the company to HdP Group. The business later passed to the Marzotto Group, then to Permira in 2007, and subsequently to Mayhoola for Investments. Garavani announced his retirement in 2007 and completed his final haute couture presentation in Paris in January 2008. After his departure, Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pierpaolo Piccioli initially shared creative responsibility; Piccioli became sole creative director in 2016. Alessandro Michele was announced as creative director in 2024, representing another major creative transition while the house retained its couture and luxury-accessories heritage.
- 2024
Alessandro Michele named creative director
[1]The house announced Alessandro Michele as successor to Piccioli following Piccioli's departure.
- 2020
Jacopo Venturini becomes chief executive
[4]Jacopo Venturini succeeded Stefano Sassi as chief executive of Valentino.
- 2016
Pierpaolo Piccioli becomes sole creative director
[1]After Maria Grazia Chiuri's departure for Dior, Piccioli assumed sole creative leadership of Valentino.
- 2012
Mayhoola acquires Valentino
[5]Mayhoola for Investments acquired Valentino, which has since operated as a privately controlled luxury fashion house.
- 2008
Garavani presents final haute couture show
[1]The founder presented his final haute couture collection at the Musée Rodin in Paris and retired from active creative leadership.
- 2008
Valentino retires from active design
[3]Valentino Garavani presented his final couture collection and retired from active creative leadership.
- 2007
Permira acquires the fashion business
[1]Permira acquired Valentino from the Marzotto Group, while Garavani announced his retirement as creative director.
- 1998
Company sold to HdP Group
[1]Valentino and Giancarlo Giammetti sold the company to HdP Group, beginning a series of ownership and corporate-structure changes.
- 1998
House sold to HdP
[6]Valentino was sold to the Italian holding company HdP, beginning a series of ownership and corporate-structure changes.
- 1990
Accademia Valentino opens
[1]The Accademia Valentino cultural space opened near the Rome atelier.
Products and positioning
Luxury fashion house centered on couture craftsmanship, Italian glamour, formal occasionwear and premium accessories. Italian luxury fashion positioned around couture craftsmanship, formal elegance, romantic and highly decorative design, and premium leather goods and footwear. The brand combines runway authority and heritage couture with globally distributed accessories and ready-to-wear.
Couture · 1960
Haute couture
Valentino’s couture activity is the highest-expression tier of the house, emphasizing hand finishing, elaborate construction, formal silhouettes and made-to-order occasion dressing. Couture helped establish the brand’s reputation from the 1960s onward and remains central to its heritage and image. Valentino's couture collections are the highest-expression design activity of the house. They emphasize handwork, elaborate construction, formal silhouettes, embroidery, draping, and specialist Italian craftsmanship. Couture establishes the visual and technical direction of the wider brand even though it serves a much smaller customer base than ready-to-wear and accessories. Valentino's couture activity is the highest-expression tier of the house, emphasizing hand finishing, elaborate construction, formal silhouettes, embroidery, draping, specialist Italian craftsmanship and made-to-order occasion dressing. Couture helped establish the brand's reputation from the 1960s onward and remains central to its heritage and image, establishing the visual and technical direction of the wider brand even though it serves a much smaller customer base than ready-to-wear and accessories.
Apparel · 1960
Women’s ready-to-wear
Women's ready-to-wear translates the house's couture vocabulary into seasonal collections distributed through Valentino boutiques and other luxury channels. The line has included tailored clothing, daywear, cocktail dresses, eveningwear and highly decorated garments.
Accessories
Valentino Garavani leather goods and footwear
The Valentino Garavani label covers the house's major accessory categories, including handbags, shoes, small leather goods and related products. These lines extend Valentino's visual codes into more broadly distributed luxury products.
Beauty
Fragrances
Valentino fragrances form the house's beauty offering and provide a more accessible expression of its fashion identity through branded scent products.
Apparel
Ready-to-wear
Women's and men's ready-to-wear translate Valentino's couture codes into seasonal collections for international retail. The range includes tailoring, dresses, knitwear, outerwear, casual pieces, and occasionwear. It combines the house's established interest in refined color and ornament with the changing creative direction of its designers.
Leather goods
Valentino Garavani handbags
Handbags are a core commercial category under the Valentino Garavani name. The assortment includes structured and soft bags, shoulder bags, clutches, totes, and seasonal runway-derived designs. Signature hardware, logo treatments, leather craftsmanship, and recognizable house motifs help connect the accessories business with Valentino's couture identity.
Footwear and leather goods · 2010
Rockstud
Rockstud is a Valentino Garavani design family built around pyramid-shaped studs applied to shoes, handbags, belts, and other leather goods. It became one of the house's most recognizable modern commercial signatures, adding a sharper, hardware-led element to otherwise elegant silhouettes.
Handbags and leather goods
Roman Stud
Roman Stud is a Valentino Garavani accessories family characterized by oversized stud details and structured handbag designs. It draws on the house's Roman identity while offering a distinctive contemporary hardware code across bags and selected accessories.
Luxury footwear
Footwear
Valentino Garavani footwear includes pumps, sandals, boots, sneakers, loafers, and other men's and women's styles. The category ranges from highly formal evening shoes to branded and studded casual designs, providing a commercially accessible expression of the house's fashion language.
Beauty and fragrance · 2018
Valentino Beauty
Valentino Beauty is the house's fragrance and cosmetics activity operated through a licensing partnership with L'Oréal. The portfolio includes fragrances and makeup positioned as an extension of Valentino's couture, color, and Italian luxury image.
Apparel
Men's ready-to-wear
Men's ready-to-wear translates Valentino's couture codes into seasonal collections for international retail, including tailoring, knitwear, outerwear, casual pieces and occasionwear, combining the house's established interest in refined color and ornament with the changing creative direction of its designers.
Controversies
2020
Valentino and Amazon file joint counterfeit-shoe lawsuit
In a controversy noted on the Valentino brand wiki, Valentino and Amazon filed a joint lawsuit against Kaitlyn Pan Group. The filing alleged that the retailer copied a classic Valentino shoe design and sold it online. The event was reported on June 18, 2020, with coverage citing the joint legal action by the fashion house and the e-commerce company against the retailer over the alleged copying and online sale of the shoe design.
Marketing campaigns
- 2021Valentino Des Ateliers
Global
Valentino presented a couture project developed with artists from different cultural backgrounds, using the collection and its presentation to connect fashion with contemporary art. The project reinforced the house's couture-and-art positioning and expanded its cultural programming.
Outcome. The project reinforced the house's couture-and-art positioning and expanded its cultural programming.
- 1990Accademia Valentino and L.I.F.E.
Italy
The Accademia Valentino opened as a cultural venue, and Valentino Garavani and Giancarlo Giammetti created L.I.F.E. to support people affected by HIV/AIDS. The initiative linked the house's cultural activity with philanthropic work, establishing a documented cultural and charitable dimension around the Rome maison.
Outcome. Established a documented cultural and charitable dimension around the Rome maison.
- Valentino Di.Va
Global
Valentino has used the Di.Va initiative and related digital storytelling to highlight women and creative voices connected with the house's contemporary identity, supporting brand communication around individuality, creativity, and representation.
Outcome. The initiative supported brand communication around individuality, creativity, and representation.
Brand decisions
2024
Alessandro Michele appointed creative directorOtherBackground
Following Pierpaolo Piccioli’s departure, Valentino selected Alessandro Michele to lead the house’s creative direction.
Action taken
Michele was announced as the new creative director. The house appointed Alessandro Michele to lead its creative direction.
Aftermath
The appointment marked a new phase in the interpretation of Valentino’s couture and ready-to-wear identity. The appointment opened a new creative chapter for the brand, with Michele succeeding a designer whose tenure had lasted more than seven years.
2012
Mayhoola acquires ValentinoM&ABackground
Valentino had passed through several Italian corporate owners and was part of the restructuring of the former Valentino Fashion Group.
Action taken
Mayhoola for Investments acquired Valentino and continued to develop it as an international luxury house.
Aftermath
The transaction placed Valentino under private investment ownership and preceded further investment in retail, accessories, and global brand development.
Reported transaction value. (2012)
2008
Valentino Garavani retires from designOtherBackground
After nearly five decades as the house's defining designer, Valentino Garavani chose to leave active creative direction.
Action taken
The company appointed Alessandra Facchinetti and subsequently installed Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pierpaolo Piccioli as creative leaders.
Aftermath
The transition began the post-founder creative era while the Valentino name and couture heritage remained central to the business.
2007
Garavani retires as creative directorOtherBackground
After leading the house for nearly five decades, Valentino Garavani announced his retirement from the creative role.
Action taken
He left the creative-director position and presented his final couture show in January 2008.
Aftermath
Creative leadership passed through a succession of designers, including Maria Grazia Chiuri, Pierpaolo Piccioli and Alessandro Michele.
1998
Sale to HdP GroupM&ABackground
Valentino and Giancarlo Giammetti decided to transfer ownership of the company after decades of building the Rome-based fashion house.
Action taken
The company was sold to HdP Group.
Aftermath
The transaction began a sequence of corporate ownership changes that later included Marzotto, Permira and Mayhoola.
Reported transaction value. US$300 million (1998)
Recent events
Reported
Valentino launches Vaccinated hoodie[9]
Valentino launched a limited-edition black and red hoodie featuring its signature logo and the word “Vaccinated.” The article says all profits from the sweatshirts will be donated to UNICEF in support of the vaccination campaign.
Reported
Valentino collaborates with Sara Ludy on NFT artwork[10]
Valentino collaborated with artist Sara Ludy to create an exclusive NFT digital artwork titled “Astral Garden” through Valentino Insights.
Reported
Bergdorf Goodman unveils Valentino ACT Collection installation[11]
Bergdorf Goodman unveiled an installation featuring Valentino's ACT Collection in its women's store.
Reported
Valentino partners with Betony Vernon on Rockstud Alcove[12]
Valentino partnered with author and jewelry designer Betony Vernon on Rockstud Alcove, a project highlighting the Rockstud accessories collection. The collaboration includes a special reissue of Vernon's book The Boudoir Bible with a custom sleeve.
- Unconfirmed
Reported
Valentino and Magrabi release limited-edition sunglasses[13]
Valentino and Magrabi collaborated on a limited-edition sunglasses range, which was available at Magrabi stores across Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Egypt and Kuwait.
- Unconfirmed
Reported
Valentino sues to terminate Fifth Avenue boutique lease[14]
Valentino asked a New York court to terminate the lease for its four-story Fifth Avenue boutique. Its complaint said the location was no longer workable as a luxury destination; the landlord disputed that Valentino's lease obligations had been excused.
Reported
Valentino and Amazon file joint counterfeit-shoe lawsuit[8]
Valentino and Amazon filed a joint lawsuit against Kaitlyn Pan Group, alleging that the retailer copied a classic Valentino shoe design and sold it online.
Reported
Valentino announces LeBlanc made-to-order pop-up[15]
Valentino announced its LeBlanc pop-up, where clients can order customized versions of two white poplin shirts from the spring collection. The program was scheduled to begin at the New York flagship on Monday, then move to Los Angeles and Dallas.
Weekdays and relative dates follow the original report; their exact calendar dates have not been verified.
Sources19 sources
- 1Valentino (fashion designer)en.wikipedia.org
- 2Official Valentino websitevalentino.com
- 3Valentino official maison historyvalentino.com
- 4Valentino official newsvalentino.com
- 5Reuters report on Mayhoola's acquisition of Valentinoreuters.com
- 6Valentino S.p.A. overviewen.wikipedia.org
- 7Valentino Di.Vavalentino.com
- 8Valentino and Amazon file joint counterfeit-shoe lawsuitfashion.sina.com.cn
- 9Valentino推出“Vaccinated”连帽衫dailymail.com
- 10Valentino与Sara Ludy合作创作NFT艺术作品vmagazine.com
- 11Bergdorf Goodman推出Valentino ACT系列装置yahoo.com
- 12Valentino 与 Betony Vernon 合作推出 Rockstud Alcove 项目harpersbazaar.com
- 13Valentino 与 Magrabi 推出限量版太阳镜arabnews.com
- 14Valentino起诉要求终止第五大道精品店租约businessinsider.com
- 15Valentino 宣布推出 LeBlanc 量身定制快闪项目townandcountrymag.com
- 16Covid-19: Valentino sues to close Fifth Avenue boutique in Manhattan, blames pandemichindustantimes.com
- 17Retailer Valentino sues to close boutique on New York's Fifth Avenuefoxbusiness.com
- 18Valentino sues landlord claiming 5th Ave isn't prestigious after COVIDdailymail.com
- 19Valentino sues to terminate its lease on Manhattan's Fifth Avenue because 'it is no longer a luxury destination' after the coronavirus lockdown and stores were boarded up during lootingfreerepublic.com
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