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Valentino Garavani Dies at 93: Remembering the Italian Fashion Legend

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Valentino Garavani, the Italian designer whose name was synonymous with couture discipline and colour mastery, has died at the age of 93. He passed away in Rome on January 19, 2026, according to an official statement released by the Valentino Garavani & Giancarlo Giammetti Foundation.

Born Valentino Clemente Ludovico Garavani in Voghera in 1932, he began his career at a time when elegance was still governed by structured tailoring and formal codes. Trained in Milan and Paris, Valentino returned to Italy in the late 1950s to establish his fashion house in Rome, a city whose grandeur and history would remain central to his design approach.

Photo: Shutterstock

By the 1960s, Valentino had had gained international clients, dressing aristocrats, actresses, and first ladies with a carefulness followed strict couture conventions. His work was featured sharp tailoring. Few designers have so successfully balanced excess with discipline, romance with order.

One of his defining signature is the color that became inseparable from his name a distinctive shade of red that was associated with formal evening wear and couture presentation rather than provocation. It was worn by Elizabeth Taylor, Audrey Hepburn, Jackie Kennedy, Sophia Loren, and later worn by contemporary actresses and public figures extending his cultural relevance across decades of cultural memory.

Photo: Shutterstock

His personal and professional partnership with Giancarlo Giammetti, who joined the house in 1960, shaped the business and public image of the house. Together, they built Valentino into one of Italy’s leading Italian couture houses navigating the transition from couture salon to global fashion house while maintaining its couture focus.

Valentino stepped away from active design in 2008, presenting his final collection with a final haute couture collection in Paris that reflected his long-standing emphasis to form and finish. While the house would go on under new creative leadership, his influence remained embedded in its shapes and couture techniques.

Tributes followed from across the fashion industry, film, and global culture, acknowledging not only his aesthetic contributions but his insistence on standards in an increasingly fast-paced industry. Within the fashion industry Valentino represented a belief in fashion as a discipline one shaped by patience, skill, and an understanding of beauty as something constructed, not improvised.

Photo: Centromedicoloira

He is survived by his partner Giancarlo Giammetti. Funeral arrangements will take place in Rome, with plans for a public viewing to be announced. With his passing, fashion loses one of its last true couturiers a designer whose work did not chase relevance, yet never lost it.

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Fashion

Romeo Beckham Teases New Apparel Brand

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Romeo Beckham is expanding his presence in fashion with the launch of a new apparel brand, marking his latest move beyond modelling.

The brand, called Intra, has been introduced through a series of social media posts and promotional events. Early previews suggest the debut collection draws inspiration from football culture, featuring vintage-style sportswear influenced by national teams including England, Brazil and the United States.

Photo – Instagram

The launch comes as football-inspired fashion continues to gain popularity beyond the sport itself. Vintage jerseys, training jackets and retro athletic styles have become increasingly visible across both luxury fashion and streetwear.

The project combines two areas that have featured prominently in Beckham’s career. After pursuing football in his younger years, he shifted his focus to modelling and has since worked with brands including Burberry, Balenciaga and Versace. He has also made appearances at major fashion events in recent years.

Photo – Instagram

Intra’s rollout has included a surprise promotional event in London’s Soho district, where a limited number of items were distributed to fans. The approach reflects a strategy often used by contemporary streetwear labels, which frequently introduce products through exclusive releases and community-focused events.

Members of the Beckham family have also shown support for the brand by wearing pieces from the collection ahead of its official release, helping to increase visibility around the launch.

Photo – Instagram

As the collection prepares to reach consumers, attention is likely to focus on the products themselves and how they are received within the sportswear market.

The launch marks Beckham’s first major venture into fashion retail. More details about the collection and its wider availability are expected to be announced in the coming months.

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Kate Moss & Emily Ratajkowski Are in Their Gucci Bag

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Photo Credit - Instagram

Gucci’s latest campaign focuses on a single message: the bag comes first. Everything else is reduced or removed, keeping attention on the product.

Fronted by Kate Moss and Emily Ratajkowski, the visuals centre on the house’s leather goods, with both women styled to remove distractions. In several images, they appear in lingerie or minimal clothing, holding oversized handbags placed at the centre of each shot. The bag is treated as the main object rather than an accessory, shaping how each image is read.

Emily Ratajkowski – Instagram

Shot by Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott, the campaign keeps its setting simple. There are no detailed backgrounds or layered concepts. The colours are muted, and the composition remains consistent across the series. This repetition keeps the focus on the handbags.

Structured totes and compact top-handle styles appear throughout, presented with minimal styling that highlights texture, hardware and scale. By limiting additional elements, Gucci places emphasis on craftsmanship and recognisable design codes instead of seasonal trends.

Kate Moss – Instagram

The casting is intentional. Moss brings a sense of familiarity, having long been associated with direct, minimal fashion imagery. She appears without heavy styling or added context, which aligns with the campaign’s approach. Ratajkowski, by contrast, reflects a more current media presence. Her visibility is closely tied to self-curation and digital culture, making her a relevant counterpart within the same visual structure.

The campaign also reflects Demna’s direction at Gucci, where attention has shifted towards clearly defined products. The focus on handbags, presented without distraction, points to a strategy that prioritises recognisable, marketable items.

Kate Moss – Instagram

The result is a campaign that avoids overstatement. It does not rely on complex themes or heavy styling. Instead, it presents a controlled set of images built around a single idea, repeated with consistency. For a UK audience familiar with more elaborate fashion narratives, this approach reads as considered and direct.

In practical terms, it reflects how luxury is currently marketed. Individual pieces are given space to carry brand identity on their own. Here, the emphasis is clear: the bag leads, and everything else follows.

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Victoria Beckham Touches Down in Paris With a £70,000 Outfit Ahead of Her Latest Fashion Week Show

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Photo Credit - Instagram

Victoria Beckham arrived in Paris ahead of her scheduled appearance at Paris Fashion Week, choosing an arrival look valued at about £70,000. The designer and former member of Spice Girls wore a structured travel outfit that reflected the tailored style associated with her ready-to-wear label.

The most notable accessory was a shearling-trimmed Kelly bag from Hermès. The limited-edition design was produced during the period when Jean Paul Gaultier worked with the brand in 2005. Vintage versions of the bag are known to command high resale prices, with estimates reaching around $80,000 depending on condition and authenticity.

Photo Credit: Instagram

Beckham paired a tomato-red rollneck top from her own collection with high-waisted beige flare trousers. The combination focused on clean tailoring and a streamlined shape, relying on colour contrast and precise cut. Oversized sunglasses and a gold wristwatch completed the look.

The appearance came days before her runway presentation in Paris, where attention is building around her latest collection. Public outings linked to fashion week often serve to highlight a designer’s brand identity ahead of the show, particularly when the designer is also the label’s creative director.

Photo Credit: Instagram

Interest in rare vintage luxury accessories continues to rise in contemporary fashion circles. Collectible handbags are frequently viewed as investment pieces as well as style items, with limited-run designs attracting strong secondary market demand.

Beckham’s Paris arrival reflects the commercial and editorial positioning common among modern designer brands, where travel appearances, show scheduling and personal styling are used to maintain momentum around seasonal collections. The outfit’s focus on tailoring, neutral structure and distinctive accessory choice aligns with the polished, wearable luxury associated with her brand.

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