Valentino Garavani, legendary Italian fashion designer, dead at 93

MILAN (AP) — Valentino Garavani, the jet-set Italian designer whose high-glamour gowns — often in his trademark shade of "Valentino red" — were fashion show staples for nearly half a century, has died at home in Rome, his foundation announced Monday. He was 93.

"Valentino Garavani was not only a constant guide and inspiration for all of us, but a true source of light, creativity and vision," the foundation founded by Valentino and his partner Giancarlo Giammetti said in a statement posted on social media.

Universally known by his first name, Valentino was adored by generations of royals, first ladies and movie stars, from Jackie Kennedy Onassis to Julia Roberts and Queen Rania of Jordan, who swore the designer always made them look and feel their best.

Gwyneth Paltrow poses with fashion designer Valentino Garavani at a goop anniversary event in London in October 2018. (Darren Gerrish/WireImage/Getty Images)

"I know what women want," he once remarked. "They want to be beautiful."

Designer Valentino Garavani poses with American model Cindy Crawford ahead of his Autumn/Winter Haute Couture 1998 show in Paris on July 7, 1997. (THOMAS COEX/AFP via Getty Images)

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Though Italian-born and despite maintaining his atelier in Rome, he mostly unveiled his collections in Paris, and spoke French with his Italian partner Giammetti, an entrepreneur.

Alessandro Michele, the current creative director of the Valentino fashion house, wrote in Instagram that he continues to feel Valentino’s "gaze" as he works on the next collection, which will be presented March 12 in Rome, departing from the usual venue of Paris. Michele remembered Valentino as "a man who expanded the limits of the possible" and possessing "a rare delicacy, with a silent rigor and a limitless love for beauty.’'

Designer Valentino Garavani attends a 1992 celebration at the Park Avenue Armory in New York City with actress Sophia Loren, one of his longtime muses. (Rose Hartman/Getty Images)

Another of Valentino’s successors, Pierpaolo Piccoli, placed a broken heart emoji under the announcement of his death. Former supermodel Cindy Crawford wrote that she was "heartbroken," and called Valentino "a true master of his craft.’'

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Condolences also came in from the family of the late designer Giorgio Armani, who died in September at the age of 91, and Donatella Versace, who posted two photos of Valentino, saying "he will forever be remembered for his art.’'

Designer Valentino Garavani and Donatella Versace attend the funeral of Italian fashion designer Gianfranco Ferré at St. Magno Church in Legnano, Italy, on June 19, 2007. (Getty Images)

Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni remembered Valentino as "an indisputable maestro of eternal style and elegance of Italian high fashion."

Never one for edginess or statement dressing, Valentino made precious few fashion faux-pas throughout his nearly half-century-long career, which stretched from his early days in Rome in the 1960s through to his retirement in 2008.

Designer Valentino Garavani poses with models backstage during his Spring/Summer 1995 ready-to-wear show at Paris Fashion Week. (THOMAS COEX/AFP via Getty Images)

His fail-safe designs made Valentino the king of the red carpet, the go-to man for A-listers’ awards ceremony needs. His sumptuous gowns have graced countless Academy Awards, notably in 2001, when Roberts wore a vintage black and white column to accept her best actress statue. Cate Blanchett also wore Valentino — a one-shouldered number in butter-yellow silk — when she won the Oscar for best supporting actress in 2004.

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Valentino was also behind the long-sleeved lace dress Jacqueline Kennedy wore for her wedding to Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis in 1968. Kennedy and Valentino were close friends for decades, and for a spell the one-time U.S. first lady wore almost exclusively Valentino.

Princess Diana wears a burgundy velvet and lace dress by Valentino in Lille, France, on Nov. 15, 1992. (Anwar Hussein/Getty Images)

He was also close to Diana, Princess of Wales, who often donned his sumptuous gowns.

Beyond his signature orange-tinged shade of red, other Valentino trademarks included bows, ruffles, lace and embroidery; in short, feminine, flirty embellishments that added to the dresses’ beauty and hence to that of the wearers.

Perpetually tanned and always impeccably dressed, Valentino shared the lifestyle of his jet-set patrons. In addition to his 152-foot (46-meter) yacht and an art collection including works by Picasso and Miro, the couturier owned a 17th-century chateau near Paris with a garden said to boast more than a million roses.

Valentino Garavani and Kendall Jenner attend The Fashion Awards at Royal Albert Hall in London on Dec. 10, 2018. (Joe Maher/BFC/Getty Images)

Valentino and his longtime partner Giammetti flitted among their homes — which also included places in New York, London, Rome, Capri and Gstaad, Switzerland — traveling with their pack of pugs. The pair regularly received A-list friends and patrons, including Madonna and Gwyneth Paltrow.

"When I see somebody and unfortunately she’s relaxed and running around in jogging trousers and without any makeup ... I feel very sorry," the designer told RTL television in a 2007 interview. "For me, woman is like a beautiful, beautiful flower bouquet. She has always to be sensational, always to please, always to be perfect, always to please the husband, the lover, everybody. Because we are born to show ourselves always at our best."

Valentino was born into a well-off family in the northern Italian town of Voghera on May 11, 1932. He said it was his childhood love of cinema that set him down the fashion path.

Valentino Garavani greets Quee