Valentino S.p.A. is an Italian luxury fashion house founded in 1960 by

Valentino Garavani Valentino Clemente Ludovico Garavani (; born 11 May 1932), known mononymously as Valentino, is an Italian fashion designer, the founder of the Valentino brand and company. His main lines include Valentino, Valentino Garavani, Valentino Roma, a ...

and part of Valentino Fashion Group. Since October 2008, the creative director is

Pierpaolo Piccioli Pierpaolo Piccioli (born 1967) is an Italian fashion designer, and has been the creative director of Valentino since 2008, jointly with Maria Grazia Chiuri from 2008 to 2016. Early life Piccioli was born in Nettuno in 1967. Piccioli studied ...

, jointly with

Maria Grazia Chiuri Maria Grazia Chiuri (; born February 2, 1964) is an Italian fashion designer. After stints working at Fendi and Valentino, Chiuri was named creative director at Dior. Biography Her maternal grandfather died during the Second World War, leaving he ...

from 2008 to 2016.

Alessandra Facchinetti Alessandra Facchinetti (born 2 June 1972) is an Italian fashion designer who is known for her work as creative director at Gucci (2004–2005), Valentino (2008–2010) and Tod's (2013–2016). Early life Facchinetti is the daughter of singer an ...

was Valentino's creative designer from 2007 to 2008. Valentino is headquartered in Milan, while the creative direction is in Rome.

History

Early history

Valentino was founded in 1960 when Garavani opened a fashion house on

Via Condotti Via dei Condotti (named always ''Via Condotti'') is a busy and fashionable street of Rome, Italy. In Roman times it was one of the streets that crossed the ancient Via Flaminia and enabled people who transversed the Tiber to reach the Pincio hi ...

in Rome, Italy with the backing of his father and his father's associate

Giancarlo Giammetti Giancarlo Giammetti (born 5 February 1942) is an Italian businessman, known for his professional and personal association with Valentino Garavani. He is the founder with Valentino Garavani of the Valentino fashion house. He is the Honour Presiden ...

Rise to popularity

Valentino's international debut took place in 1962 in Florence, the

Italian fashion Italy is one of the leading countries in fashion design, alongside France, the United States and the United Kingdom. Fashion has always been an important part of the country's cultural life and society, and Italians are well known for their atte ...

capital of the time. Valentino has also specially designed wedding dresses for Elizabeth Taylor,

Anne Hathaway Anne Jacqueline Hathaway (born November 12, 1982) is an American actress. The recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Primetime Emmy Award, she was among the world's highest-paid actresses in 2 ...

, Jennifer Lopez,

Courteney Cox Courteney Bass Cox (previously Courteney Cox Arquette; born June 15, 1964) is an American actress and filmmaker. She gained international recognition for her starring role as Monica Geller on the NBC sitcom ''Friends'', which aired from 1994 ...

Sophie Hunter Sophie Irene Hunter (born 16 March 1978) is an English theatre director, playwright and former actress and singer. She made her directorial debut in 2007 co-directing the experimental play ''The Terrific Electric'' at the Barbican Pit after her ...

and

Princess Madeleine of Sweden Princess is a regal rank and the feminine equivalent of prince (from Latin ''princeps'', meaning principal citizen). Most often, the term has been used for the consort of a prince, or for the daughter of a king or prince. Princess as a subst ...

From HDP group to Marzotto group

In 1998, Garavani and Giammetti sold the company for approximately $300 million to HdP, an Italian conglomerate controlled, in part, by the late

Gianni Agnelli Giovanni "Gianni" Agnelli (; 12 March 192124 January 2003), nicknamed ("The Lawyer"), was an Italian industrialist and principal shareholder of Fiat. As the head of Fiat, he controlled 4.4% of Italy's GDP, 3.1% of its industrial workforce a ...

, the head of Fiat. In 2002, Valentino S.p.A., with revenues of more than $180 million, was sold by HdP to

Marzotto The Marzotto Group is an Italian textile manufacturer, based in Valdagno. Created in 1836 as the ''Lanificio Luigi Marzotto & Figli''. In 2005 Marzotto Group's textile business separated from Valentino Fashion Group. The Group manufactures wo ...

Apparel, a Milan-based textile giant, for $210 million. It was rumored that HDP was displeased with Garavani's and Giammetti's personal expenses, a claim at which Giammetti has bristled.

Purchase by Qatar

In 2012, Qatari aristocrats acquired Valentino for 700 million euros through an investment vehicle called Mayhoola for Investments S.P.C.

Materials

In 2020, the fashion house announced that it would no longer use alpaca wool and severed ties with Mallkini, the world's largest privately owned alpaca farm in Peru. The move followed revelations of animal abuse within the alpaca industry.

Perfumes

Since 2010, Valentino Perfumes has belonged to the

Puig Puig () is a word of Catalan origin, meaning "hill". Hence, in Catalan-speaking areas, it appears in the names of numerous people and geographical features: Geographical features * Puig-l'agulla, a mountain of Catalonia * Puig de l'Àliga (Sant ...

company. Its fragrances have included: Valentino Classique for women (1978), Vendetta By Valentino for women (1991), Very Valentino for women (1998), Very Valentino for Men for men (1999), Valentino Gold for women (2002), V for women (2005), Valentino V Absolu for women (2006), Valentino V Ete By Valentino for women (2006), Rock'n'Rose for women (2006), V pour Homme for men (2006), Rock n' Rose Couture for women (2007), and Valentina for women (2011). In 2020, Valentino Beauty announces the release of a new perfume, ''Voce Viva'', and announced

Lady Gaga Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta ( ; born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She is known for her image reinventions and musical versatility. Gaga began performing as a teenag ...

as its égérie.

Creative directors

– 1959 to 2007 *

– 2007 to 2008 *

& Pierpaolo Piccioli – 2008 to 2016 *

– 2008 to present

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Valentino Spa Italian suit makers Clothing brands of Italy Haute couture High fashion brands Fashion accessory brands Watch manufacturing companies of Italy Clothing companies established in 1960 Design companies established in 1960 Italian companies established in 1960 Private equity portfolio companies Eyewear brands of Italy Manufacturing companies based in Milan Valentino Fashion Group