With an art-and-couture exhibition at their foundation&rsquo;s new cultural center, Valentino Garavani and Giancarlo Giammetti pay tribute to their maison&rsquo;s hallmark&nbsp;hue.

The lofty title of Taschen&rsquo;s new book, Valentino. A Grand Italian Epic, perfectly captures the aura that has surrounded the couturier throughout his storied career in fashion. It&rsquo;s not that his late contemporaries Yves Saint Laurent and Karl Lagerfeld lived less lavishly, collected fewer works of art, staged themselves less elaborately, or had lower-profile clients; it&rsquo;s simply that, with his famously deep tan and his ever-present pugs by his side, Valentino has always possessed a je ne sais quoi unlike any other.
After training with Jean Dess&egrave;s and Guy Laroche in Paris, he returned to Rome and opened his boutique on Via Condotti in 1959. He frequented the clubs on the Via Veneto, where he met his life- and business partner, Giancarlo Giammetti. In 1968, the triumph of the &ldquo;White Collection,&rdquo; presented in Florence, definitively consecrated Valentino. He dressed Italian socialite and collector Marella Agnelli, the former Empress of Iran Farah Diba, and Elizabeth Taylor, whom he met when she was in Rome on the set of Cleopatra. It was his dress that Jackie Kennedy wore when, in 1968, she married the Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis.

Over time, Valentino, now 93, accumulated opulent homes. Among them: A villa on the Appian Way, decorated by legendary interior designer Renzo Mongiardino; a chalet in Gstaad; a London house in Holland Park; and the Ch&acirc;teau de Wideville, near Versailles. He also collected works of art by Francis Bacon and Cy Twombly. His advertising campaigns, like the hundreds of editorials dedicated to him, read like a who&rsquo;s who of photographers, models, socialites, and stars who made fashion history from the late 1960s until his retirement in 2008.
In 2016, the Fondazione Valentino Garavani e Giancarlo Giammetti was created. The foundation is dedicated to philanthropic works, such as supporting the Bambin Ges&ugrave; and Gemelli hospitals in Rome, as well as to cultural works, including the Valentino Garavani theater in Voghera. With the opening of a cultural center, PM23, in Rome&rsquo;s historic Piazza Mignanelli in May, the foundation has ushered in a new era of promoting figurative arts, music, theater, fashion, ballet, and literature. On display until August 31, PM23&rsquo;s inaugural exhibition, Orizzonti | Rosso [Horizons | Red], celebrates the maison&rsquo;s signature color through a range of couture garments and works of art. L&rsquo;OFFICIEL discusses the exhibition with Giammetti.

L&rsquo;OFFICIEL: What is the purpose of the foundation?
GIANCARLO GIAMMETTI: The foundation was born from a deeply personal and private desire, shared with Valentino, to give something back to society. It is a philanthropic project in the truest sense: We wanted to pass on our cultural heritage to new generations and, at the same time, offer concrete opportunities to create beauty, which for us has always been a driver of transformation and inclusion. PM23 is a milestone in a series of initiatives that we are working on and are passionate about.
L&rsquo;O: In your opinion, what were Valentino&rsquo;s most significant collections?
GG: Every collection has a meaning. Each one represents a precise moment in our history, in our personal and creative evolution. However, some collections are particularly emblematic, such as the &ldquo;White Collection&rdquo; of 1968, presented at Palazzo Pitti: A triumph of white dresses that marked Valentino&rsquo;s definitive affirmation on the international scene, which I believe remains particularly relevant for its extraordinary modernity and purity. That idea of sophisticated simplicity, without excess, still speaks to contemporary sensibilities today.

Valentino legacy exhibit rosso red

L&rsquo;O: Which photographers and models do you think best captured Valentino&rsquo;s spirit?
GG: All of Valentino&rsquo;s muses perfectly embodied that mix of grace and modernity that he sought every time.
L&rsquo;O: Who were the designers that Valentino admired?
GG: He deeply admired designers who had started in the same period. Yves Saint Laurent, for his extraordinary ability to interpret social changes through fashion with elegance and modernity. He also had great respect for Karl Lagerfeld, for his tireless spirit and his ability to interpret tradition with a contemporary approach. And Giorgio Armani, who was able to give a new definition of elegance and sobriety, revolutionizing the very concept of fashion with his idea of discreet luxury and timeless clothes.
L&rsquo;O: What was unique about Valentino&rsquo;s vision?
GG: Valentino did not see, and does not see, fashion only as clothes to wear. For him it was the celebration of beauty, of dreams, of femininity. He believed that a woman, wearing one of his dresses, should feel more beautiful, more confident, more special.

L&rsquo;O: Who has had the greatest influence on Valentino&rsquo;s designs?
GG: Women like Jacqueline Kennedy. Not only for their fame, but for their natural elegance and an innate sense of style that Valentino has always tried to interpret in his clothes.
L&rsquo;O: How do you see Valentino&rsquo;s impact on today&rsquo;s fashion world?
GG: His idea that fashion should not only amaze, but also excite and represent women at their best, has remained. And also a certain dignity, an elegant composure, even if times have changed.

L&rsquo;O: How did he create his clothes? Was there a particular dress that he considered his masterpiece?
GG: Valentino considered&mdash;and still considers&mdash;every dress he created to be a masterpiece. He always started from the drawing, from the sketch: It could be a simple pencil line of the silhouette, or a detail of the dress he wanted to create. He is an attentive observer of the world, of the arts, of classical beauty.
L&rsquo;O: What makes the color Rosso Valentino unique?
GG: Rosso Valentino is a pure, bright red, neither too orange nor too dark. It&rsquo;s a shade that brings life to anyone who wears it.

<h3 style="text-align: center;">Below, explore L&rsquo;OFFICIEL&rsquo;s archival images celebrating Valentino&rsquo;s iconic Rosso Red.</h3>

Giancarlo Giammetti on Valentino's Legacy and the Staying Power of Rosso Red

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