Rome was paying its last respects to the legendary Valentino on Wednesday initially of a two-day public viewing for a designer whose high-glamour gowns and trademark shade of red became an iconic symbol of Italian elegance.
Valentino Garavani, who died aged 93 at his Rome residence on Monday, is lying in state at his foundation in Piazza Mignanelli, just just a few steps away from the world-known Spanish Steps.
The funeral for the jet-set Italian designer, who built his house within the Italian capital, might be held on Friday within the Basilica di Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri in central Rome.
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 at all times made them feel and appear their best.
A whole lot of fashion celebrities, authorities and Roman residents lined as much as honor the “last emperor” of Italian fashion throughout the public viewing. He at all times maintained his atelier in Rome, while he mostly unveiled his collections in Paris.
Mourners waited in line to enter the headquarters of Valentino’s foundation and stop for just a few moments in front of his coffin, adorned with only one red rose and surrounded by white flowers.
Only his closest relatives and friends sat on each side of the coffin, including his two beloved fawn-colored pugs.
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“I worked for him for 14 years … Those were essentially the most beautiful years of my life, those with him,” said hairdresser Alba Armillei. “The whole lot he touched became beautiful.”
Hailing him as certainly one of “Italy’s most luminous and beloved figures,” Rome’s Mayor Roberto Gualtieri underlined the designer’s strong links with the Italian capital.
The coffin of designer Valentino Garavani arrives for the lying in state on the Valentino Garavani and Giancarlo Giammetti foundation headquarters in central Rome, Wednesday Jan. 21, 2026.
(AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Alba Verga, in her red Valentino coat, remembered Valentino as “the largest, most immense without end.”
“He made us dream. His dresses for me were sculptures, artistic endeavors, but above all dreams and thru his dresses, I at all times dreamed,” she said.
Alessandro Michele, the present creative director of the Valentino fashion house, said the Maestro can be irreplaceable, but left a sound heritage.
“He’s been an excellent example of life,” Michele told reporters before entering the inspiration for his last salute. “He got here from afar and built something immense.”
Dancer Eleonora Abbagnato recalled “the primary dress created by Valentino for the Vienna Opera once I danced for Recent 12 months’s Eve with ostrich feathers, true elegance, the red, the emotions and effect that he created.”
Windows of the central Valentino store were covered up with black along with his famous quote: “I like beauty. It will not be my fault.”
Never one for edginess or statement dressing, Valentino’s nearly half-century profession stretched from his early days in Rome within the Sixties through to his retirement in 2008.
He founded the home of Valentino on Rome’s central Via Condotti in 1959.
People arrive to pay their respects to designer Valentino Garavani, lying in state on the Valentino Garavani and Giancarlo Giammetti foundation headquarters in central Rome, Wednesday Jan. 21, 2026.
(AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Valentino’s fail-safe designs made him 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 just 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 2005.
© 2026 The Canadian Press