Valentino's Funeral in Rome Sees Fashion Elite Honour Designer's Red Legacy
The funeral of iconic fashion designer Valentino Garavani took place in Rome on Friday, bringing together stars from the worlds of fashion and entertainment to pay their respects. While most mourners adhered to traditional funeral black, the event served as a powerful reminder of the designer's most famous contribution to fashion: his signature shade of red.
Black Attire, Red Tributes at Emotional Farewell
Among the notable figures attending the service at the Basilica of Saint Mary of the Angels and Martyrs were actor Anne Hathaway, Vogue editor Anna Wintour, designer Donatella Versace, and fashion icon Tom Ford. While the majority wore sombre black attire, Damian Hurley, son of actor Elizabeth Hurley, made a subtle nod to Valentino's legacy by accessorising his outfit with a bright red scarf.
This contrast between funeral tradition and Valentino's signature colour was mirrored in broader tributes across the fashion world. Donatella Versace had previously paid her respects wearing a bright red suit when visiting Valentino as he lay in state on Thursday, while Vogue Italia announced that their February cover would feature a special tribute using Valentino red.
The History and Significance of Valentino Red
Valentino first introduced his now-iconic red dress in his debut 1959 collection with a strapless gown called Fiesta, decorated with roses across a full skirt. The designer famously drew inspiration from seeing an older woman wearing red at the opera, noting how she stood out from the crowd. This observation would shape his entire career.
"The red dress," Valentino declared in 1992, "is always magnificent." This week, following his death at age 93, that statement has taken on renewed significance as fashion experts and historians reflect on the colour's enduring impact.
A Colour with Depth and Human Feeling
Alistair O'Neill, curator of Somerset House's 2012 Valentino: Master of Couture exhibition, explains that the particular shade Valentino developed - a scarlet with a hint of blue - proved remarkably versatile. "It's a tone that works across a range of skin colours and it makes nearly all women look great," O'Neill notes. "I think that's because it's a very pure and clean colour but it has a luminosity about it."
Fashion writer Charlie Porter, who worked on the 2022 book Valentino Rosso, emphasises that Valentino created his signature colour before Pantone began systemising colours in the early 1960s. "Valentino's red is a red with real sensitivity and depth and human feeling because it's before this time of 'let's choose a red', mechanical colour," Porter observes.
Capturing the Essence of Italian Light
For Vogue Italia's tribute cover, the magazine's head of content Francesca Ragazzi worked with Valentino's foundation to identify the Pantone shade closest to the designer's original red, settling on 2347C because it was "the most vibrant, it best expresses a sense of light."
Porter suggests that Italy's unique light played a crucial role in shaping Valentino's colour perception. "There's location to colour, which we don't think about so much now," he says. "The way the sun sits in the sky or the tilt of the Earth makes colour be seen in different ways."
Red's Enduring Symbolism in Fashion and Culture
Kassia St Clair, author of The Secret Lives of Colour, notes that red has maintained consistent symbolic meaning throughout history. "It really has said the same things - power, wealth, status - for as long as we know," she explains. Originally created using expensive dyes, red clothing has long been associated with luxury, worn by royalty, military leaders, and high-ranking clergy.
St Clair also points to potential biological impacts of the colour, noting that "of all the testing that gets done, there's the most interesting evidence for red having some kind of impact on us."
A Personal Lucky Symbol and Lasting Legacy
For Valentino himself, the red dress became more than just a design element. "When he designed the Fiesta dress, he decided that he wanted to have a red dress in every collection that he produced," O'Neill reveals. "It was a lucky symbol for him."
Sixty-seven years after that first red gown, Valentino red remains a defining part of the designer's legacy. "Legacy means leaving something to the world," says Ragazzi, "and it is extraordinary that Valentino was able to leave a colour as a universal language, one that will remain for ever in the global imagination."
Contemporary Perspectives on Valentino's Influence
Not all observers agree that red will remain permanently linked with Valentino in public consciousness. Porter suggests that for many contemporary fashion followers, the designer might be more strongly associated with the Rockstud shoes from 2010 than with his signature colour.
St Clair also questions whether Valentino's passing will create a resurgence of red in fashion, arguing that "red transcends" any single designer's influence. "Valentino has a very specific place in our time, and is huge for our time, but red transcends that," she concludes.
Nevertheless, as fashion luminaries gathered in Rome to bid farewell to one of their most celebrated members, the contrast between funeral black and Valentino red served as a powerful visual reminder of how a single colour can become synonymous with a designer's vision, creativity, and enduring impact on global fashion.
