Matt Tyrnauer

Armando Chitolina

Valentino

First name in fashion: The glamorous life and work of Valentino Garavani Think Valentino: think luxury. Think elegance. Think red carpet. Fashion's most beloved upholder of refined decadence and the most exciting couturier in business is known around the globe simply by his first name. Only a few years after opening his fashion house in Rome in 1959, Valentino was already at the height of success, counting Elizabeth Taylor, Jackie Kennedy, and Audrey Hepburn among his devotees. Over forty years later, not much has changed'he's still dressing the top celebrities, from Gwyneth Paltrow to J.Lo, though now his business is a major economic force in Italy and his fashion house is among the most famous in the world. Valentino has always designed clothes for glamorous and sophisticated women, never wavering from his signature style even when grunge, deconstruction, and other passing fads were all the rage. Though his couture division almost never makes a profit (his ready-to-wear lines are what fuel the business), his heart is most solidly devoted to the magnificent haute couture gowns that earned him his reputation as fashion's most talented dressmaker. This luxurious limited-edition publication renders homage to Valentino's illustrious career via a copious selection of images from his archives, including drawings, magazine shoots, advertisements, portraits of Valentino, and documentary photographs; presented chronologically, the visual material is accompanied by a vast array of newspaper and magazine articles about Valentino throughout the years. Text also includes Vanity Fair writer Matt Tyrnauer's interviews with twenty of Valentino's closest collaborators and friends as well as anappreciation of Valentino by International Herald Tribune's fashion writer Suzy Menkes. All of these elements add up to an in-depth look at the man, his lifestyle, and his genius'a book more comprehensive and stunning than one could hardly dare to dream of. After all, what could be a more fitting tribute to the work of Valentino than a book as beautiful and luxurious as one of his gowns?

Valentino Garavani

Una Grande Storia Italiana

Valentino: Master of Couture is an exhibition at the Somerset House co-organized by Valentino himself, who selected over 130 dresses for the exhibition. The book focues as much on Valentino and his glamorous lifestyle as it does on his legendary dressmaking techniques and atelier. (The overwhelming success of Matt Tyrnauer's film Valentino: The Last Emperor attests to the public's hunger for "behind the scenes" glimpses of Valentino's life). The designers had unprecedented access to Valentino's personal archive, and the selected visual material includes personal photographs of and by Valentino and his close circle (often with glamorous women such as Jackie O., Elizabeth Taylor, Lee Radziwill, and the like) in his art-filled homes and at social events, giving the book the feel of a personal album and the viewer access to a unique life. The catalog also includes two photographic portfolios by Deborah Turbeville and Cathleen Naundorf, showing Valentino at work. A number of dresses in the exhibition sprinkled throughout the catalog rounds out this intimate look at the life of a design legend.

Valentino

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