Valentino is the first high fashion and prêt-à-porter line by the couturier Valentino Garavani, who opens the atelier in Via Condotti in the heart of Rome in 1959. The designer of Voghera initially collaborates with Jean Dessès and Guy Laroche and in the 60s enters the Olympus of Fashion, immortalized in the pages of Vogue. In the '70s, after having chosen the "V" as the identifying part of his maison, his signature became synonymous with high class and tailoring. Over the years Valentino, creative genius of fashion and a lover of harmony, presents collections of exclusive dresses for the evening and great galà with impeccable cuts and luxury accessories for men and women. The feminine dresses emphasize the hips and reveal the décolleté, enriched with jewels, romantic touches like ruffles and embroidery. Outerwear, suits, knitwear, pants, leather goods, bags and accessories sophisticated, precious and always fashionable, worn by important personalities and Hollywood stars of yesterday and today. The dry lines and the "knot" proposed with rhinestones or staples, in addition to the peculiar "red Valentino" color, have always characterized the aesthetics of the Italian couturier. Valentino skillfully uses color, choosing easy to carry colors such as ivory, white, bronze, plum and gold, in contrast and as a complement to black. In 1967, he was awarded two prizes in America: the Neiman Marcus Award in Dallas, equivalent to the Oscar for Fashion, and the Palm Beach Award for Palm Beach. Moreover, in the same year he presented the first Valentino Uomo collection. The first collections, however, appear on the market only since the seventies. Another important milestone in the extraordinary career of this designer is that Valentino is the first Italian couturier to enter into licensing contracts with manufacturing companies for the production and marketing on international markets of products with his label. In 2005 he was awarded the Légion d'honneur, the highest honor awarded by the French Republic, which is rarely granted to non-French personalities. After 45 years of work, in 2007, he left the fashion house, giving way to the designer Alessandra Facchinetti, who in turn passed the baton to the current creative directors of the brand, Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pier Paolo Piccioli. In 2008 the director Matt Tyrnauer makes a documentary film about his life entitled "Valentino: The Last Emperor", a work that tells the life of one of the greatest stylists of all time, addressing various topics, and focusing particularly on the relationship Valentino with Giancarlo Giammetti, his life partner and business partner for over fifty years. Finally, on 12 July 2012, the fashion house was sold, together with the M Missoni brand, to the company Mayhoola for Investments from Qatar.