Valentino S.p.A. is an Italian luxury fashion house founded in 1960 by Valentino Garavani and part of Valentino Fashion Group. Since October 2008, the creative director is Pierpaolo Piccioli, jointly with Maria Grazia Chiuri 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 in Rome, Italy with the backing of his father and his father's associate Giancarlo Giammetti.

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

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and Princess Madeleine of Sweden.

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 Fiat Automobiles S.p.A. (, , ; originally FIAT, it, Fabbrica Italiana Automobili di Torino, lit=Italian Automobiles Factory of Turin) is an Italian automobile manufacturer, formerly part of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, and since 2021 a subsidiar ...

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

* Valentino Garavani – 1959 to 2007 *

– 2007 to 2008 * Maria Grazia Chiuri & Pierpaolo Piccioli – 2008 to 2016 * Pierpaolo Piccioli – 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