Latest news with #GiancarloGiammetti
The Star
23-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The Star
Uncovering Valentino's fashion legacy: Celebrities, luxury and the power of red
'Fashion is not always seen as an art, and designers were not yet artists,' said Giancarlo Giammetti, the founder, with Valentino Garavani, of the Valentino brand. He was speaking on video from Rome about the fashion house they created in 1960. This month a large book about the house came out. Valentino: A Grand Italian Epic is a 576-page tome devoted to all things Valentino: drawings of gowns, archival photographs, advertisements, fashion features and many anecdotes from celebrity fans. Elizabeth Taylor discovered the label when she was filming Cleopatra in Rome. Clients like Audrey Hepburn and Nan Kempner liked how classic the classics were. Garavani never embraced fads and stuck to what critic Suzy Menkes described in the introduction as a penchant for 'frothy, sensual, sweet-toothed glamour'. Matt Tyrnauer, who directed the 2009 documentary Valentino: The Last Emperor , said in an interview that the book shows the house's role in the invention of fashion PR and modern advertising. 'Fashion was the most rarefied world for a certain set of women of a certain class who patronised these houses, who were not interested in publicity or marketing because they didn't need it, but the world was changing,' said Tyrnauer, who is credited as the author of the book (Menkes wrote the introduction). 'Giancarlo Giammetti was at the vanguard of that.' Read more: 'Doing what I love': Malaysian fashion designer Zang Toi is living his best life Indeed, the house was savvy about dressing celebrities and maintaining friendships with people in the public eye. 'I was drawn to the craftsmanship and elegance of Valentino's clothes long before we became friends,' Gwyneth Paltrow wrote in an email. 'I had grown up seeing women like Mrs (Marella) Agnelli and Jacqueline Onassis in his creations, and Valentino became a brand I aspired to wear. I cherish the vintage Valentino I have in my archive, especially a couture cape with feathers he gave me as a gift in the early 2000s.' The book, an updated edition of a 2007 version that has been redesigned, including a new layout and cover, has elements of oral history. Gloria Schiff, a onetime Vogue editor, recalled that Jacqueline Kennedy had been a client of Valentino since the 1960s. 'I was playing tennis with Jackie Kennedy at the River Club one morning, and she seemed a bit down,' Schiff said. 'This was some time after the assassination, when she was really in mourning. She said, 'Honestly, even if I wanted to go out, I have nothing to wear.'' Schiff arranged a meeting between the first lady and the designer. Garavani went on to design Kennedy's wedding dress for her marriage to Aristotle Onassis in 1968. Sort of, Giammetti said: 'We knew about the romance and gossip, but she never said, 'Valentino, can you make a dress for me?'' She bought a dress from that season's collection, which she wore to her ceremony. 'The morning of the wedding, that dress was on the cover of WWD ,' Giammetti said. 'They made the scoop. We didn't do anything.' Valentino did design a wedding dress for Anne Hathaway. 'He somehow intuitively knew the exact dress I wanted, which was for the skirt to ombre into soft pink, but which I was too shy to ask for,' Hathaway wrote in an email. 'When he showed me the sketch, I couldn't believe it. It was like he had read my mind and my heart.' A model walks the runway for the Valentino Resort 2018 runway show. Photo: AFP The book works as a history of fashion photography, with images from Lord Snowdon, Bruce Weber, Deborah Turbeville, Steven Meisel and Jean-Paul Goude. One page has Claudia Schiffer surrounded by white-coated women in the Valentino atelier, photographed by Arthur Elgort in 1995. There is a lot of Valentino's brightly pigmented signature shade of red, which is recognised as its own Pantone colour, a mix of 100% magenta, 100% yellow and 10% black. It is shown on masses of models playing blindman's buff with Garavani on a stretch of grass and on a top worn by Vogue editor Diana Vreeland in her Upper East Side apartment, in a room decorated in the same red. Vreeland said that Valentino 'likes women who believe in overdressing, creating a role, giving a feeling that they will not disappear into the background'. A new book offers a look at all things Valentino: drawings of gowns, archival photographs, advertisements, fashion features and many anecdotes from celebrity fans. Photo: Instagram/Taschen 'His woman must startle,' she said. 'She must be riveting.' Read more: Was Bob Mackie misunderstood? The fashion designer has dressed icons like Cher Over-the-top luxury and extravagance were hallmarks of the house as well. There are photos of Garavani wearing sunglasses and denim outside his 17th-century Chateau De Wideville in France. Others show his many pugs hanging out in Gstaad, Switzerland, or on the Valentino yacht. 'Yachts, houses, paintings, entertaining, castles – none of the other designers is living that way,' publisher John Fairchild is quoted as saying. 'Valentino outlives everybody. He's the biggest high-liver I know.' Former French Vogue editor Joan Juliet Buck talks about being impressed that someone ironed her bedsheets daily when she stayed with Garavani and Giammetti in Capri. 'We were young when we started, super-young and curious,' Giammetti said. 'Our lifestyle was taught to us from important clients. So, yes, someone ironed the bedsheets, I feel embarrassed to say. It has nothing to do with style, and it's not a very expensive luxury. Unless you do naughty things, then you change them.' Tyrnauer said that for all the opulence of the brand, Giammetti 'got the best out of everyone at hand'. 'I would be around while they were doing collections,' he said. 'If he needed help doing show notes for the collection, he'd say, 'You're a writer, sit here and help me figure out what to say about these looks.' I thought that was kind of amazing.' – ©2025 The New York Times Company This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
Observer
17-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Observer
La Dolce Vita, the Valentino Way
'Fashion is not always seen as an art, and designers were not yet artists,' said Giancarlo Giammetti, the founder, with Valentino Garavani, of the Valentino brand. He was speaking on video from Rome about the fashion house they created in 1960. This month a large book about the house came out. 'Valentino: A Grand Italian Epic' is a 576-page tome devoted to all things Valentino: drawings of gowns, archival photographs, advertisements, fashion features and many anecdotes from celebrity fans. Elizabeth Taylor discovered the label when she was filming 'Cleopatra' in Rome. Clients like Audrey Hepburn and Nan Kempner liked how classic the classics were. Garavani never embraced fads and stuck to what critic Suzy Menkes described in the introduction as a penchant for 'frothy, sensual, sweet-toothed glamour.' Matt Tyrnauer, who directed the 2009 documentary 'Valentino: The Last Emperor,' said in an interview that the book shows the house's role in the invention of fashion PR and modern advertising. 'Fashion was the most rarefied world for a certain set of women of a certain class who patronized these houses, who were not interested in publicity or marketing because they didn't need it, but the world was changing,' said Tyrnauer, who is credited as the author of the book (Menkes wrote the introduction). 'Giancarlo Giammetti was at the vanguard of that.' Indeed, the house was savvy about dressing celebrities and maintaining friendships with people in the public eye. 'I was drawn to the craftsmanship and elegance of Valentino's clothes long before we became friends,' Gwyneth Paltrow wrote in an email. 'I had grown up seeing women like Mrs. [Marella] Agnelli and Jacqueline Onassis in his creations, and Valentino became a brand I aspired to wear. I cherish the vintage Valentino I have in my archive, especially a couture cape with feathers he gave me as a gift in the early 2000s.' The book, an updated edition of a 2007 version that has been redesigned, including a new layout and cover, has elements of oral history. Gloria Schiff, a onetime Vogue editor, recalled that Jacqueline Kennedy had been a client of Valentino since the 1960s. 'I was playing tennis with Jackie Kennedy at the River Club one morning, and she seemed a bit down,' Schiff said. 'This was some time after the assassination, when she was really in mourning. She said, 'Honestly, even if I wanted to go out, I have nothing to wear.'' Schiff arranged a meeting between the first lady and the designer. Garavani went on to design Kennedy's wedding dress for her marriage to Aristotle Onassis in 1968. Sort of, Giammetti said. 'We knew about the romance and gossip, but she never said, 'Valentino, can you make a dress for me?'' She bought a dress from that season's collection, which she wore to her ceremony. 'The morning of the wedding, that dress was on the cover of WWD,' Giammetti said. 'They made the scoop. We didn't do anything.' Valentino did design a wedding dress for Anne Hathaway. 'He somehow intuitively knew the exact dress I wanted, which was for the skirt to ombré into soft pink, but which I was too shy to ask for,' Hathaway wrote in an email. 'When he showed me the sketch, I couldn't believe it. It was like he had read my mind and my heart.' The book works as a history of fashion photography, with images from Lord Snowdon, Bruce Weber, Deborah Turbeville, Steven Meisel, Jean-Paul Goude. One page has Claudia Schiffer surrounded by white-coated women in the Valentino atelier, photographed by Arthur Elgort in 1995. There is a lot of Valentino's brightly pigmented signature shade of red, which is recognized as its own Pantone color, a mix of 100% magenta, 100% yellow and 10% black. It is shown on masses of models playing blindman's buff with Garavani on a stretch of grass and on a top worn by Vogue editor Diana Vreeland in her Upper East Side apartment, in a room decorated in the same red. Vreeland said that Valentino 'likes women who believe in overdressing, creating a role, giving a feeling that they will not disappear into the background.' 'His woman must startle,' she said. 'She must be riveting.' Over-the-top luxury and extravagance were hallmarks of the house as well. There are photos of Garavani wearing sunglasses and denim outside his 17th-century Château de Wideville in France. Others show his many pugs hanging out in Gstaad, Switzerland, or on the Valentino yacht. 'Yachts, houses, paintings, entertaining, castles — none of the other designers is living that way,' publisher John Fairchild is quoted as saying. 'Valentino outlives everybody. He's the biggest high-liver I know.' Former French Vogue editor Joan Juliet Buck talks about being impressed that someone ironed her bedsheets daily when she stayed with Garavani and Giammetti in Capri. 'We were young when we started, super-young and curious,' Giammetti said. 'Our lifestyle was taught to us from important clients. So, yes, someone ironed the bedsheets, I feel embarrassed to say. It has nothing to do with style, and it's not a very expensive luxury. Unless you do naughty things, then you change them.' Tyrnauer said that for all the opulence of the brand, Giammetti 'got the best out of everyone at hand.' 'I would be around while they were doing collections,' he said. 'If he needed help doing show notes for the collection, he'd say, 'You're a writer, sit here and help me figure out what to say about these looks.' I thought that was kind of amazing.' —NYT
New York Times
12-06-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
La Dolce Vita, the Valentino Way
'Fashion is not always seen as an art, and designers were not yet artists,' said Giancarlo Giammetti, the founder, with Valentino Garavani, of the Valentino brand. He was speaking on video from Rome about the fashion house they created in 1960. This month a large book about the house came out. 'Valentino: A Grand Italian Epic' is a 576-page tome devoted to all things Valentino: drawings of gowns, archival photographs, advertisements, fashion features and many anecdotes from celebrity fans. Elizabeth Taylor discovered the label when she was filming 'Cleopatra' in Rome. Clients like Audrey Hepburn and Nan Kempner liked how classic the classics were. Mr. Garavani never embraced fads and stuck to what the critic Suzy Menkes described in the introduction as a penchant for 'frothy, sensual, sweet-toothed glamour.' Matt Tyrnauer, who directed the 2009 documentary 'Valentino: The Last Emperor,' said in an interview that the book shows the house's role in the invention of fashion P.R. and modern advertising. 'Fashion was the most rarefied world for a certain set of women of a certain class who patronized these houses, who were not interested in publicity or marketing because they didn't need it, but the world was changing,' said Mr. Tyrnauer, who is credited as the author of the book (Ms. Menkes wrote the introduction). 'Giancarlo Giammetti was at the vanguard of that.' Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Business of Fashion
30-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Business of Fashion
Has Fashion Given Up on Emerging Designers?
Dear BoF Community, ROME and MILAN — This week in Rome, I had the honour of sitting down with Giancarlo Giammetti for an exclusive interview on The BoF Podcast. For those not in the know, Mr. Giammetti first met the designer Valentino Garavani by chance on July 31, 1960, setting in motion one of fashion's most enduring — and most successful — creative partnerships. Together, they built Valentino into a global fashion powerhouse, celebrated for its elegance, craftsmanship and cultural influence. This was a love story and a business partnership, beautifully (and honestly) rendered in Matt Tyrnauer's 2008 documentary, 'Valentino: The Last Emperor.' Mr. Giammetti was refreshingly candid in our conversation, laying bare his thoughts on the state of fashion today, the musical chairs of constant designer shuffles, the egos of designers who want to be bigger than the brands they work for, and most of all, the lack of support for emerging designers. 'How many new brands have been created? I don't know,' he said. 'The last one I remember is [Giambattista] Valli or maybe Jacquemus. Why? I don't think that the big conglomerates want to put money in somebody new. They want to [focus] on their own portfolio, the names that they [already] have. But to invest in one talent? I haven't seen anything.' There was a similar refrain when I chatted with fellow jury members at the Camera Moda Fashion Trust Grant in Milan later in the week. I was busy typing away on my computer at the Fondazione Sozzani, doing a final review of BoF's reporting on Maria Grazia Chiuri's confirmed exit from Dior, when Marco Bizzarri arrived for the judging. He popped over to say hello and we chatted about the dire and uncertain state of the industry. Completely independently of my conversation with Mr Giammetti, he mentioned how concerned he is that the big groups don't seem to be interested in backing young talents. I reminded him that Kering's investments in Christopher Kane and Altuzarra — as well as LVMH's investment in Nicholas Kirkwood — were largely seen as failures. Not because these aren't talented designers with real potential, but because placing small, emerging businesses within the structure of gargantuan luxury groups means they received very little management attention. But I agreed with his point that if we don't support and cultivate emerging talents — even if the groups lose some money on these investments — the creative future of fashion is doomed. LVMH's investment in Jonathan Anderson's label, which coincided with his appointment as creative director of Loewe in 2013, tells a slightly different story. While J.W. Anderson is still a small-ish, loss-making business which did around £30 million in revenues in 2023, according to filings at the UK's Companies House, Loewe is now nearing €2 billion in sales. The business has grown almost tenfold since Anderson took over and everyone is now awaiting the confirmation that he will take over as artistic director of Dior. Not a bad return on that investment. Later, over a plate of pasta after the judging had concluded, Sara Sozzani Maino, who has been spearheading the Fashion Trust for the last few years, threw her hands in the air Italian-style, expressing to me how hard it has been to find financial support from the Italian fashion industry for the trust, which aims to support the new generation of Made in Italy designers. Remo Ruffini and Moncler have been especially supportive, she said, as well as Max Mara, Valentino, Gucci and Pomellato who have supported the Trust for some time. But the vast majority of brands declined to help, offering up a range of reasons from budgets being closed to focusing on their own internal support initiatives. She was asking for just €50,000 per brand. In the absence of this kind of financial support, some of the finalists for the Fashion Trust Grant explained to me that they have to do consulting work for other brands to survive. But this means they have less time to focus on their own businesses and are designing to achieve someone else's ideas, even if in their heart all they want to do is focus on developing their own creative vision. As any seasoned entrepreneur will tell you, it's much harder to succeed at building your own business if it's just a part-time job. At the gala dinner in the evening, my seatmate Carla Sozzani said she is worried that even if the young designers can survive the turbulent market environment, they have nowhere to sell their clothes. The multi-brand retail market in Italy is in turmoil, just as it is in the US and many parts of the world. (Emerging designers in Italy complained to me of the same problems of not getting paid by Saks, Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman, among others.) What they also need, Sozzani said, is a partner like Mr. Giammetti, who provided a lifeline of support for Mr. Valentino through all of the rigours of building a business from scratch — including a bankruptcy, buying the business back from their first investor and then navigating several waves of different investors who came afterwards, eventually leading Mr. Valentino and Mr. Giammetti to leave the business after the control investors wanted was all too much. Just after our main courses, the three winners selected by the jury — Lessico Familiare, Francesco Murano and Institution — were awarded their €50,000 grants. Then, Maino stepped to the microphone to announce there was a surprise. Winners and Judges at the gala dinner for Camera Moda Fashion Trust. (Courtesy) Marco Bizzarri came on stage to express his passion for Moja Rova, another emerging brand that many of the judges also liked. It was hard for us to choose from so many deserving applicants, so Bizzarri put his money where his mouth is and fronted the €50,000 personally to offer a fourth prize. This is the kind of support we need to see from more of the big players in our industry. As I said to Mr Giammetti at the end of our interview when he turned the tables to ask my opinion, 'I think about the cost that this is going to have on our industry in the future. If we don't nurture smaller creative talents and businesses today, what will fashion look like 10, 20 years from now?' Imran Amed, Founder and Editor in Chief Here are my other top picks from our analysis on fashion, luxury and beauty: 1. Why Blockbuster Deals Are Back in Fashion. In an era of tariffs and turmoil, fashion's boldest players are placing billion-dollar bets — and finding bargains in a high-risk, high-reward wave of M&A. In an era of tariffs and turmoil, fashion's boldest players are placing billion-dollar bets — and finding bargains in a high-risk, high-reward wave of M&A. (Courtesy) 2. Hello, Goodbye: Maria Grazia Chiuri's Next Chapter. If there was 'beautiful confusion' in the mix of cruise and couture the powerhouse designer paraded in Rome on Tuesday night, the standing ovation at the end of the show left little doubt she was saying goodbye to Dior after a transformational near-decade tenure and hello to her next act, resurrecting the storied Teatro della Cometa. Dior designer Maria Grazia Chiuri staged an elaborate runway spectacle at the Villa Albani Torlonia in her hometown of Rome on Tuesday night. (Getty Images) 3. Can Jewellery Continue to Outshine Fashion? As leather goods lose their cool amid rising prices and quality concerns, fine jewellery is emerging as luxury's shining star. Jewellery giants like Cartier continue to steer clear of the post-pandemic price hikes implemented by many fashion brands. (Cartier) 4. Why Food Is Everywhere in Fashion Advertising. As foodie culture peaks and the cost of living rises, food is popping up more than ever in fashion imagery. Fashion's latest marketing obsession is food. (BoF Collage) 5. David Bailey, Immortal. A new exhibition aims to prove the iconic photographer's claim to everlasting impact rests on more than his portraits from Sixties London, writes Tim Blanks. David Bailey and Madge. (© David Bailey) This Weekend on The BoF Podcast The author has shared a YouTube video. You will need to accept and consent to the use of cookies and similar technologies by our third-party partners (including: YouTube, Instagram or Twitter), in order to view embedded content in this article and others you may visit in future. In this exclusive interview, Mr. Giammetti reflects on the founding days of Valentino, the importance of protecting creativity in a fashion market that prioritises commercialisation, and why it is critical for the industry to support future generations of designers who are overlooked by a fashion system under pressure. 'This continuous change of people, using people to cover jobs … it makes a big confusion. None of them really becomes a part of the legacy of the company. That's what is a big problem today,' says Giammetti. To receive this email in your inbox each Saturday, sign up to The Daily Digest newsletter for agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice that you won't find anywhere else.
Business of Fashion
30-05-2025
- Business
- Business of Fashion
Giancarlo Giammetti on Securing Valentino's Legacy
Listen to and follow the 'BoF Podcast': Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Overcast Background: Giancarlo Giammetti met Valentino Garavani by chance on July 31, 1960, setting in motion one of fashion's most enduring — and most successful — creative partnerships. Together, they transformed Valentino into a global fashion powerhouse, celebrated for its elegance, craftsmanship and cultural influence. In 2016, Giammetti co-founded the Fondazione Valentino Garavani e Giancarlo Giammetti to preserve their remarkable legacy, promote creativity and foster charitable initiatives. This week in Rome, BoF founder and CEO Imran Amed had the honour of sitting down with Mr. Giammetti at PM23, the newly opened home of the foundation, located right next to the Valentino headquarters where their journey together first began. In this exclusive interview, Mr Giammetti reflects on the founding days of Valentino, the importance of protecting creativity in a fashion market that prioritises commercialisation and why it's critical for the industry to support future generations of designers who are overlooked by a fashion system under pressure. 'This continuous change of people, using people to cover jobs … it makes a big confusion. None of them really becomes a part of the legacy of the company. That's what is a big problem today,' says Giammetti. Key Insights: Giammetti highlights the strength of his decades-long partnership with Valentino, emphasising their deep personal and professional connection. 'We grew up related so much to each other that we cannot be separate,' he says. 'Even when we had some rupture in our private life, after a while, we kept our family. That's why we have such a big family — because all of our friends became friends of our family with us.' Giammetti expresses concern about the fashion industry's current state, noting the disconnect between creative integrity and business pressures. 'Designers have become their own stars, they have their own style, and they don't want to really become a witness to the work of the companies where they are hired to prolong life – they want to work for themselves,' he says. Giammetti believes in preserving the heritage of fashion through new means. 'I hate fashion museums. I think that to see all the mannequins like Madame Tussauds look really like wax things. I don't think there is a life inside,' he says. 'With digital work, you have to work with that to project your legacy in a different way.' Giving advice to aspiring creatives, Giammetti encourages young designers to remain true to themselves and avoid distractions. 'Be yourself. Don't get distracted. You have to believe in yourself and do what you want.' The author has shared a YouTube video. You will need to accept and consent to the use of cookies and similar technologies by our third-party partners (including: YouTube, Instagram or Twitter), in order to view embedded content in this article and others you may visit in future. Additional Resources:
