A few fashion houses have gone beyond trends and time with Valentino's lasting grace and innovation. Since its inception in the 1960s, Valentino has held the world of high fashion thrall with its melding of the old world elegance with modern pizzazz—not just in clothing but in everything from fragrance to leather goods to haute couture. From dressing former first lady Jackie Kennedy to Hollywood actor and fashion innovator Zendaya, the development from eras reflects not only years of transition but also the unrelenting strength of Valentino's ability to adapt and change while keeping its luxurious essence.

In a 2020 Vogue article by Kati Chitrakorn, Gachoucha Kretz, an affiliate professor in marketing and brand management at HEC Paris, says, "These brands (Valentino, Alexander McQueen, Versace) have a strong identity and styles that are highly Instagrammable."

This article explores Valentino: the person, the brand, and what makes it a global phenomenon.

The Birth of a Legacy: Valentino in the 1960s

Founded by Valentino Garavani in Rome in 1960, the Valentino name made a name for its artisanship and centred on classicism. Valentino had a signature style based around femininity, romance, and extravagance. The brand's aesthetic created a unique fashion identity, embodying the essence of Italian glamour, epitomised by the brand's "Valentino Red" formula, which denoted drama and timelessness.

Jackie Kennedy was among the first and perhaps most recognised muse of Valentino. She was a model of beauty and high fashion, and by embracing Valentino, she significantly increased the brand's popularity on a global scale. The turning point, and image where strength and personal tragedy melded into a single experience, was when Jackie Kennedy decided to wear Valentino for her wedding to Aristotle Onassis, which took place on the Greek island of Skorpios in October 1968. It later sold for $24,320 at auction. Her affinity and love for the brand represented personal taste and public intrigue. There was a political angle to the support - beyond aesthetics, there was prestige.

Hollywood Glamour: The 1970s to 1990s

Valentino would remain a fixture on red carpets and among the elite in the subsequent decades. He dressed individuals like Elizabeth Taylor, Audrey Hepburn, and Sophia Loren, and his brand represented a certain refined glamour. His talent at merging theatrical design and ease made him a favourite of elite clients.

In the 1980s, power dressing and excess reigned in the fashion world, and Valentino's designs mirrored these themes through strong shapes, bold fabrics, and excessive embellishments. However, despite all the excess, Valentino's designs retained an air of classicism that made even the most maximalist piece timeless.

By the 1990s, minimalism had become established over the maximalism of the past few decades. Valentino avoided being lost in the changes by continuing to design more streamlined silhouettes while remaining true to all the ornate aspects foundational to his style. His Princess Diana, perhaps another of his muses, wore Valentino gowns that were simple, yet effortless and elegant - thereby balancing the themes of royalty, literal and cultural.
A New Millennium: Transition and Continuity

When he officially retired in 2008, Valentino Garavani left behind a reputation many believed would be impossible to replicate. Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pierpaolo Piccioli took over the heritage fashion house as a creative partnership. The duo became known for offering a more youthful and accessible Valentino while connecting the fashion house to its special history.

Though Chiuri left in 2016 to take over at Dior, Piccioli took complete creative control. Valentino is now staking its claim in a new golden age under Piccioli's creativity. As Valentino's new face, Piccioli is audacious, inclusive, and emotional. Not only does he create collections that identify individuality and diversity, but he is also steering the brand toward socially relevant territory while successfully securing its established couture status.

Piccioli's audacious creativity has ensured that Valentino is at the forefront of innovative culture while not neglecting the brand's fundamental identity. This proves that the two concepts can coexist in modern fashion without compromising one's ethics or ideology.

The Zendaya & Florence Effect: Valentino in the Age of Influence

If Jackie Kennedy had been Valentino's muse in the 1960s, Zendaya certainly would have been his face today. As a global fashion icon, an actress, and a role model for Gen Z, Zendaya represents all Piccioli wants for a modern Valentino woman: empowered, stylish, and visionary.

Since becoming the brand's face in 2020, Zendaya has worn Valentino to many high-profile events, including the Oscars and Venice Film Festival. Attending any of these events, showcasing a powerful pink suit or flowing pink couture gown, Zendaya made sure to strut in style. Piccioli calls her a "natural Valentino girl," and their partnership has successfully placed the brand in the digital and influencer age.

One of her most recognisable moments was during the "Pink PP" campaign, when she wore head-to-toe hot pink outfits that went viral everywhere. This collaboration broke the internet, changed Valentino’s colour story for a new generation, and showed that the brand could set the trends while respecting its legacy.

In April 2023, English actress Florence Pugh became the newest face for Valentino DI.VA. Staff from the Roman house selected Pugh for this campaign because of her skillset and because House creative director Pierpaolo Piccioli believes she embodies the Valentino values.

The Magic of Modern Couture

Valentino is one of the last truly haute couture houses. Piccioli's couture shows are now highly anticipated and consistently provide an artistic narrative and emotional impact. Each collection is filled with conversations around identity, feminism, and inclusivity that position haute couture to dispel the stigma of elitism and being disconnected from reality.

Whether he uses non-traditional models to show dresses or harnesses streetwear elements to create tailored pieces, Piccioli ensures that Valentino remains culturally relevant. The label is never short of red carpets, fashion editorials, or a social media presence poised to be applicable within a cultural framework and across different platforms and generations.

The Bollywood Connection

Valentino has rapidly gained popularity amongst Bollywood's top stars, putting many of them on its red carpets, premiere events, and campaign closets. A major front-runner, Priyanka Chopra has worn Valentino looks at international events such as the Met Gala and film premieres. At the Rome premiere of Citadel in April  2023, Chopra wowed audiences in a feather-trimmed, parrot-green Valentino Pre-Fall  2023 attire − a silk slip dress showcasing a matching marabou-trimmed robe finished off with a jewelled Valentino “V” bag. For the Met Gala 2023, in attendance for the theme 'Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty, Priyanka and her husband, Nick opted for a black-and-white colour palette, Priyanka wore a Valentino gown with the risqué splashed thigh-high slit and Nick making a statement with his oversized suit.

Kiara Advani also wore a Valentino dress at the Met Gala. Furthermore, several stars attended the Valentino event in Mumbai, including Malaika Arora, Mira Rajput, and Alaya F, all in Valentino dresses. Shloka Ambani was also spotted wearing a Valentino sequinned mini dress.

The brand's stylish forms, vivid colours, and couture construction are a natural fit for Bollywood's love of drama and glamour. And while Valentino is rolling out globally, its footprint in Indian star wardrobes is taking hold brick-by-brick.

Beyond the Gown: Accessories and Brand Expansion

Valentino is well known for producing beautiful gowns, but the company has also succeeded in accessories. Introduced in the 2010s, the edgy sophistication of the Rockstud collection made handbags and shoes an aspect of quotidian life, establishing Valentino as a household name outside of haute circles. The success of such lines has gone a long way toward adding economic and pop-cultural life to the company.

In 2021, Valentino marked the next phase of its legacy by entering into the beauty and cosmetics category with Valentino Beauty. The Valentino Beauty collection is an accurate representation of Valentino's couture spirit. The collection is romantic, expressive, and unapologetically vibrant with long-lasting lipsticks, luminous cushion foundations, and extraordinary packaging in its signature red and gold colour scheme. Valentino Beauty aims to celebrate individualism while embracing gender inclusivity. Along with the collection's launch, Valentino also introduced Voce Viva, a fresh mix of floral notes and modernity. Valentino combined luxury fashion and beauty to reach a younger, more diverse audience globally, offering accessible glamour and fun.

In the Age of Social Media

For involvement, Valentino ranked in the top 10 on YouTube. Still, as currency will be essential for winning over Gen-Z consumers, Bain estimates it could account for 40% of luxury purchases by 2035 (an expert advised on important business matters).

The Roman-based fashion house has thrived, adapted and recreated itself for its younger, digital audience, not forgetting its haute couture origins. With Pierpaolo Piccioli as Creative Director, Valentino has melded heritage craftsmanship with contemporary relevance. As a brand, it has become a mainstay favourite of fashion commentators across Instagram, TikTok, and red carpet coverage. Social media has undoubtedly increased the visibility and recognition of Valentino's collections; its "Pink PP" collection, in particular, has been a viral sensation. Many of the monochromatic hot-pink looks worn by celebrities like Zendaya and Florence Pugh received tremendous traction and overall engagement on social media, displaying that not only does Valentino understand the internet, but it also speaks the same visual language.

What distinguishes Valentino from other brands is its almost effortless combination of theatrical haute couture and emotional storytelling. The inclusive casting of models and gender-fluid silhouettes throughout Piccioli's collections resonates with millennial and Gen-Z audiences who appreciate representation and authenticity. Piccioli’s campaigns, which highlight models with different body types and real people, help humanise the luxury brand, allowing it to engage with fans beyond the status of the "fashion elite."

Influencer marketing is a key component of Valentino's overall social media strategy. Its partnerships with global style icons like Zendaya and Priyanka Chopra have helped merge the Western and Eastern markets. Both of these celebs, with millions of followers, can turn every Valentino appearance into a social media moment for people to engage in conversation across platforms.

From haute couture runway shows made available for livestreaming on an international scale to interactive campaigns on Instagram, Valentino is leveraging social media's modalities without compromising its artistic integrity. Valentino has not only maximised its influence and engaged a younger clientele, but it has also used its heritage status to draw in a digital world of which it is entirely part.

The Takeaway

Whether it's Jackie Kennedy's undeniable elegance or Zendaya's undeniable charisma, Valentino's story reflects more than just apparel—it encapsulates a narrative of shifting ideals, changing aesthetics, and the fashionable power of elegance. Valentino is a reminder that tradition and innovation can coexist and flourish in a fast-paced industry where newness reigns supreme.

It has not only carved out a space in the history of fashion but also planted the seeds for its future while rooting itself in craftsmanship, emotional storytelling, and unflinchingly embracing new cultural narratives. With every cut and every seam, Valentino has a whisper for the ages: trends fade, but true style endures.