With V for Valentino: six decades of a mythical and unclassifiable brand
The Italian creator, who retired in 2007 after 45 years at the helm, nevertheless follows the evolution of Pierpaolo Piccioli very closely. This designer has continued his legacy in a brand that has just celebrated six decades.
In our image gallery, we review the actresses who have chosen it for the red carpet or to say “I do”: from Elizabeth Taylor to Jennifer Lopez, Sophie Hunter, Anne Hathaway, Gwyneth Paltrow…
Also the favorite of brides of royalty and aristocracy and of cinema. From Marie Chantal Miller for her wedding to Pablo de Grecia, to Máxima Zorreguieta, the current queen of Holland, through Magdalena of Sweden, Tatiana Santo Domingo, Beatrice Borromeo.
Among the youngest actresses, Zendaya is the image of the brand. From the Italian brand, it was Nicky Hilton’s dress for her wedding in 2015 with James Rothschild and Nicola Peltz’s for her marriage to Brooklyn Beckham in April 2022.
Discover how many trends and colors that you wear today and will wear tomorrow are ideas from this nonagenarian creator and his current creative director.
Follow the topics that interest you
-
1 of 14
The first to give a name to a color
After Coco Chanel, whose name was associated with the black of the so-called ‘Litte Black Dress’, Valentino was the first designer to be immediately associated with a color. If there is one that identifies the Italian, it is red. Throughout his career, he has created so many dresses in that shade that today they talk about “Valentino red.”
-
2 of 14
Valentino Red, on the red carpet.
There are many actresses who have chosen models from the Italian designer to attend one of the most important “red carpet” events in the world. From Sienna Miller (2007), through Anne Hathaway (2011), Gwyneth Paltrow (2015) and Jennifer Aniston, among many others, they also did so by choosing a dress in Valentino’s favorite shade.
-
3 of 14
Her fashion enters museums
Throughout his entire career, numerous retrospectives have been dedicated to Valentino in different museums and galleries around the world. One of his most complete was the Ara Pacis Museum in Rome, where Máxima of Holland’s wedding dress was exhibited, as well as numerous creations in black, another of his favorite shades. In the center, a design by Pierpaolo Piccioli in the Metropolitan Museum exhibition ‘Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination’ (2018).
-
4 of 14
In the History of Fashion
Valentino coincided in his beginnings with Cristóbal Balenciaga, and the influence of the Spanish on the Italian is evident. Jackie Kennedy was one of his best clients and the one who gave him international fame. Jennifer López wore a vintage model in 2003, for the Oscars, very similar to one of the former First Lady.
-
5 of 14
All trends and styles
Since his beginnings, the Italian designer, trained in Paris, has created and recreated all the trends that have been in fashion at some point: from ‘animal print’ to polka dots, folk and hippie style to ethnic, the oriental and the baroque.
-
6 of 14
Favorite at weddings of royalty and aristocracy
Valentino has dressed Queen Sofia on numerous occasions, but the first royal who commissioned her dress from the Italian designer was Sibilla Weiller and Torlonia, in 1994 (first photo on the left). She was followed by Marie Chantal Miller in 1995, Máxima Zorreguieta in 2002, Magdalena of Sweden in 2013 and Tatiana Santo Domingo (for her religious wedding, in 1013). In 2014, Elisabetta Rosboch also chose him for her wedding to Amadeo from Belgium (center photo) and, in 2021, Anunciata from Liechtenstein (right photo).
-
7 of 14
From Valentino to Pierpaolo: the signature continues
Beatrice Borromeo also chose it for her civil wedding with Pierre Casiraghi (2015), as did the actress Sophie Hunter (2015) and the businesswoman Marta Ortega (2018).
-
8 of 14
To the nines
From left to right, Jennifer Aniston, Rosamunde Pike, Cameron Díaz, Tilda Swinton, a dress from the brand worn by Audrey Hepburn and Nicole Kidman. All of them opted for white. The Italian designer was the first to create monochrome collections.
-
9 of 14
Actresses, singers and other celebrities
Actress Claire Foy (2018) and singers Lady Gaga (2018) and Laura Pausini (2021) have worn the designer’s models in different shades of pink to attend various events.
-
10 of 14
A brand for all ages
Gwyneth Paltrow, at the 2013 MET Gala; Emma Roberts, attending one of the designer’s shows (2014), and Gemma Chan (2019), at the Oscars. All of them, dressed by Valentino. The former also chose it for her wedding to producer Brad Falchuk in 2108.
-
11 of 14
Orange from ready-to-wear to haute couture
From left From left to right: model Kaia Gerber at the Haute Couture show held in January 2020 in Paris. Model from the spring-summer 2021 collection also from Haute Couture. Fashion show in Milan, of the ready-to-wear line, for the same season.
-
12 of 14
Prodigious combinations
Pierpaolo Piccioli has continued the master’s legacy with original color combinations, both for Haute Couture and ready-to-wear. From left From left to right: Models from the Paris Fashion Week held in July 2019 (first and third photos) and, in the center, from the January 2019 shows also in Paris.
-
13 of 14
How to maintain and expand a legacy
The creations of PPP (as Pierpaolo Piccioli is known) have taken risks, year after year, to reach out to a younger audience. From left From left to right: Models from Paris Fashion Week held in July 2019 (first and third photo) and, in the center, from Paris Fashion Week a few months later, in September of the same year.
-
14 of 14
Pink and red: punch in the eye?
To the left and in the center, two models from the Valentino Haute Couture 2019 show during Paris Fashion Week. On the right, proposal for Paris Fashion Week held in September 2019.