The Emperor's Last Table

Rome - Valentino Clemente Ludovico Garavani, legendary Italian fashion designer, has peacefully passed at the age of 93. Garavani opened a fashion house on Via Condotti in Italy. Known by the V logo, Valentino served as the creative director and influencer of the house from 1959 until around 2008. "Valentino Red" became a symbol of the fashion icon. His love for the color seemingly stemmed from the opera Carmen, a Spanish bel canto, that filled a stage with impressive red costumes. Valentino's formula for the perfect shade reportedly consisted of 100 percent magenta, 100 percent yellow, and 10 percent black. The hue Valentino Red (rosso Valentino) is recognized by the Pantone Color Institute. "For the Valentino maison, red is not just a colour; it is a non-fading mark, a logo, an iconic element of the brand, a value," he once exclaimed. Valentino, a designer with his own color.

His work was introduced to the fashion world in Florence, which was once the fashion capital of Italy in the late sixties. His name made its way to Paris, New York, and London. Valentino dressed the greats including Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Gwyneth Paltrow, Anne Hathaway. His foundation is now based in Milan.

"Vava," as he was affectionately known by family and friends, was a pug lover who boldly declared his dogs more precious than his collections.

Equally impressive as his dress was his ability to love. Valentino's romantic and business partner Giancarlo Giammetti described their relationship as "beyond words." A relationship that spanned from business, to romance, to brotherhood. A feature length documentary about Giancarlo and the couturier, Valentino: the Last Emperor, details the years before Valentino's couture show in Paris and his retrospect in Rome. "Mr. Giammetti," as Valentino referred to him, appreciated the work that highlighted the brilliance, tantrums, and preposterousness of his life partner. Valentino quipped about him as the man "who stayed by my side all these years." Dubbed a power pair, Giancarlo's post to acknowledge the passing of his beloved today is, "…forever..."

Many in the art of fashion are known to host dinner fetes with table décor that rivals that of royalty. Valentino was precise with his impeccable presentations, offering impressive Chelsea, P.K. Silesia, or Meissen porcelain flanked by parsnips, chocolates, orchids, roses, and cabbages. He used jade green, light blue, pale pink, or frosty yellow linens—while avoiding white. His grandeur dinner events had seat requirements that never sat a couple together; the scenes of stunning crystal, silver, and candles forced people to meet, eat, drink, and talk about fashion on his yachts, homes, and chalets.

The emperor's last table will be in Piazza Mignanelli.

Valentino's funeral will take place January 23, 2026, at the Basilica Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri.

@Martie

@garciavelamartie

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