Valentino, the designer whose name is as synonymous with the color red as it is with fashion, took his final bow from the catwalk this past week in Paris following his Spring Couture show.

His departure comes in the middle of what could be called the “year of Valentino”. A year that has included a 3 day extravagant 45th anniversary celebration in Rome this past summer, followed by a beautiful retrospective of his work featuring over 300 of his designs, the filming of a hip-indie documentary to be released about him this spring, the planning of yet another retrospective in Paris slated for the summer of 2008, and to top it all off being awarded the Grand Medaille de Vermeil de Ville de Paris just this past week (that’s the medal of honorary Paris citizenship to you and me).

Not a bad way to go out for the 75 year old Italian who has spent the last four and a half decades dressing the world’s most famous women- literally from Jackie O. to J.Lo.

His final show, which took place on the grounds of the Rodin Museum, included all the glamour and femininity one has come to expect from the designer who has always been thought of as the epitome of elegance. His swan’s song-a sea of his iconic red, as 30 beautiful models flooded the runway all wearing the same red gown amidst images of red dresses projected onto the sides of the tent covering the star studded audience.

His spectacular departure from fashion this week got me wanting to know more about him. After all, we are sort of known for being interested in color around here, and I realized I knew very little about Valentino or how his fascination with the color red came to be.

I must first mention that Valentino’s rise to uber-fame came in the 1960’s without an ounce of red fabric in sight. In fact, the designer warned the American buyers in the late 60’s with the quote ” I am a non-color man”. His 1968 collection, which was comprised of only shades of white ( ecru, ivory, pale beige ), was a huge hit amongst jet setters and fashion editors alike- establishing him as a force in fashion.

It wasn’t until the late 1970’s that Valentino would first discover his love of the color red, or rosso valentino, as it is now often referred to.

Here the story gets a little fuzzy… as I found three different scenarios of this “aha” moment. All three have Valentino visiting Barcelona…. the first suggests he was at the circus and spotted the color, the second is that he was at the Opera and was enchanted by a red costumed diva, and the third that it was on this trip that he first meet editor-extraordinaire Diane Vreeland who infected him with her love (and also signature color) of red.

Whatever the events, the color had a strong impact on his aesthetic from there on out.

“Red has guts…. deep, strong, dramatic. A geranium red. A Goya red…. to be used like gold for furnishing a house… for clothes, it is strong, like black and white” he said.

“Women usually prefer to wear black at events because it makes them feel safe, however, if there’s one woman wearing red, she will inevitably be the eye-catcher of the evening. It’s as though the room is suddenly illuminated- simply perfect for a grand-entrance”.

From then on Valentino used red in his collection to symbolize ” the power of femininity”, and in the age of disco and economical distress it all seemed to make sense.

Funny enough as the 80’s rolled in, women wearing red quickly took on another meaning. Remember Nancy Reagan in her red suits, more powerhouse than demure first lady. The culture was changing and women in the workforce took to wearing the color red not so much to symbolize “the power of femininity”, but to shout out “the power of equality” to their male counterparts.

Throughout this Valentino remained steady and never faltered with his visions. His love of a luxurious silhouette survived through the 80’s gender-bending punk trend ( which he basically found beyond distasteful), and as the 90’s were ushered in with the monochromatic pales of Calvin Klein (sound familiar) and the grunge inspired street wear of Marc Jacobs all the rage… his red dress remained.

Now with the return of elegance once again at the height of fashion, Valentino seems to be ending his career very much where he started it, some 45 years earlier.

But does this mark the end of the Valentino “red dress”?

No doubt the label will go on, already Alessandra Facchinetti formally of Gucci, has been named as Valentino’s women’s collection successor.

But will the timeless, elegance forever associated with the label remain?

In a business where constant evolution is seen as good, Valentino always held strong to his simple belief that a women should be dressed elegantly at all times- he was even often heard bashing other designers whose over-the-top designs drew attention, but left the customer with little to wear.

And what about the iconic red dress? The “look” we always knew would show up at some point each season? Will it remain?

Well fashion is a fickle place, and those who drive it are often more interested in creating the next great trend than keeping alive an iconic classic. I suppose we will just have to wait and see… and keep our “rosso valentino” fingertips crossed!

Photo credits:

• Photo of “Valentino Retrospective” Jason Schmidt, New York Times
• Runway photo, getty images
• Vintage Valentino from historyoffashion.com
• Book cover image from amazon.com
• Couture 2008 photo from style.com
• Valentino with red dresses from madeinitaly.com

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