Danira Alihodzic

Valentino Garavani was born on May 11, 1932 in Voghera, Pavia, Italy.

Valentino has a passion for drawing and fashion at an early age, which

prompted him to study French and Fashion design at Academia dell Arte in

Milan. Valentino went ahead and studied at Chambre Syndicale de la

Couture Parisienne, which is where he truly bloomed. He then moved to

Paris to further his studies. While still in his teen years, Valentino was awarded

a prestigious prize for fashion design by the International Wool Secretariat.

Winning this award, which was later also given to Yves Saint Laurent and

Karl Lagerfeld, got him noticed by couturier Jean Deses. Valentino ended

up working at his fashion house in 1950. Valentino worked for Desse for the

following five years and then moved on to working with Guy Laroche for a

few years. By 1960, Valentino was a well-established designer. That same

year, he opened his first store in Rome’s Via Condotti. He was an immediate

success and impressed many big names such as Elizabeth Taylor and

Jacqueline Kennedy. He launched the infamous “V” label and won the

Neiman Marcus prize in 1967 Three years later, he launched his first ready-

to-wear lines and opened up stores in Rome and New York. In 1971, he

opened his first Menswear store on Via Condotti, Rome, Italy.

History.

The early days.

Valentino, London, 1968

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Valentino Garavani

Valentino continued collecting several awards in the following years. He was

a very well respected designer whose main objectives were to promote the

brand values; romanticism, exclusiveness and feminism. He launched Men’s

collections, put out perfumes, and started accessories in the next few years.

He opened up stores all around the world. After all that success, Valentino

and his partner Giancarlo Giammetti sold the fashion empire for 211 million

British Pounds ($330 million) in 1998. Valentino announced his plan to retire in

2008 at the 45-year anniversary party held in 2006. Valentino is the sole

designer to have had his own line for 45 years. He was succeeded by

Alessandra Facchinetti. In 2008, Facchinetti was fired for being unable to

stay true to the brand. Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pier Paolo Picciolo stepped in

as creative directors and have been with Valentino ever since.

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The Designs.

One of Valentino’s best-known

signatures is definitely the color red.

It is said that Valentino was inspired

by an Opera in Barcelona. This

color has become such a

Valentino staple that it is known as

“Valentino red” in the fashion

industry.

Valentino is mostly known for the

beautiful gowns and dresses. The

designs are feminine, sophisticated

and romantic as well as bold.

Valentino wants to make women

look and feel beautiful. His pieces

are all very timeless. Simplistic, yet

complex. A lot of the pieces have

strong lines and texture.

Geographic patterns, volume,

graphic prints, bows and flounces

are also very Valentino.

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Beautiful details are another Valentino trademark.

Valentino uses a lot of silk, lace, embroidery and cotton.

Shop.

Although Valentino is mostly known

for their Gowns, they offer a large

selection of items. Other items up for

sale include; shoes, handbags, tops,

bottoms, sportswear, outerwear,

accessories (gloves, belts, hairbands,

necklaces, pouches, smart phone

covers, wallets) and knitwear.

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Valentino is not for every woman. Maybe in theory, but in reality you

have to fit a certain mold. First, you have to be able to afford the

clothing. Valentino does have a ready-to-wear collection that can be

shopped online and in stores. Prices for that usually range from $300 to

$4,000. Valentino’s ready-to-wear is definitely priced at Bridge. As far as

the Haute Couture collections go, the prices are sometimes sky high,

putting it at a Couture price point. Whether you are looking to shop

ready-to-wear or couture, you will need to be quite well off. This can

mean a thriving career, a trust fund, or “Mommy and Daddy’s” money.

The ideal Valentino costumer (Target costumer) is also young and fresh. I

would say anywhere from early 20’s to mid 30’s. They would be of high

social standing and judging from their advertisements, largely Caucasian.

The Valentino target costumer is very young but has a certain air to her.

She is classy, sophisticated and romantic, bold and strong all at once.

She would not have any children. Their core costumer, however is mid to

late 30’s up until late 40’s. Still largely Caucasian, has a solid career and

steady income, is married or maybe even divorced with or without

children. She is very social and attends every event on the socialite

calendar. She wants to keep up a youthful appearance and therefore

dresses younger than her age.

The

Costumer. (demographic, psychographic, core vs. target)

Leighton Meester’s character “Blair Waldorf” is only one of the many Gossip Girl gals with a Valentino purse. The ladies tote more Valentino’s around on the show than any other brand. Coincidentally, they are all in their early 20’s, beautiful, Caucasian, wealthy and socialites – just like the Valentino Target costumer.

The “Valentino woman”

The “Valentino Man”

The rules are the same. The target costumer is the young, ridiculously

handsome, charming, wealthy, center-of-attention, bachelor,

entrepreneur, businessman. He is the one depicted on all the ads. The

Core costumer, much like the women’s core costumer, is much different.

He is a male in his mid 20’s to late 40’s. He is someone who likes to look

good, but with that effortless yet put together look. He makes a very

good living for himself and had had at least one marriage by now.

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Advertising.

Valentino’s advertisement, much like any other brands, reveals the target costumer. Each of these photos represents the mentioned Caucasian, early 20’s, beautiful, independent woman. More so, some of the ads are quite raunchy. I have noticed that most ads that include both sexes show the female dominating the male in one way or another. This definitely speaks to the “independent” part. You can also see the target costumer in the ad directly below; all Caucasian and extremely good-looking people. They are all young, and very carefree. They almost remind you of trust fund babies. I’ve also noticed that the more recent Valentino ads have become more gothic in style, darker than before. Overall, every single ad oozes sex appeal and power.

Most of Valentino ads are magazine ads. I have yet to see a single ad on television or hear about it on the radio.

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Brand, image

presentation.

What struck m most about Valentino’s brand

presentation was the effectiveness It is so very

simplistic and very neat, but you cannot look

away. Everything about the brand is extremely

well put together and you can tell it has been

thought out. From the models that they use, to

the music for the shows, to the visual displays in

the stores it is simple but breathtaking. The idea

of “Valentino Red” also appealed to me very

much. I love the color itself, but what I love even

more is that it brings out the passion, strength

and confidence in each piece. If I were to put

on a Valentino gown in the signature color, I

would feel beautiful, sexy, elegant, confident

and strong without a doubt. That is what

Valentino is about. Proving that what you put on

truly can and does make a difference in how

you feel.

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"Elegance is the balance between proportion,

emotion, and surprise." -Valentino Garavani

If I had to change anything about Valentino, it

would be the advertisements. Although I adore

the sauciness of them, they only attract a very

small percentage of costumers. Only Caucasian

women are represented in these ads and it is no

secret that there are Hispanic, African American

and Asian women out there who are wealthy

and fashionable enough to afford the brand.

These women are not at all being addressed in

the advertisements. I did notice, however, that

these women are represented on the runway.

Scarcely, but they are. I would also put more

races on the catwalk. I feel that people like what

they can identify with. This would bring in more

costumers and in the long run, more sales.

My touch.

Danira Alihodzic, December 2011

VALENTINO: up close.

When it comes to detail, Valentino is no slacker. From lace to satin to silk to feathers; Valentino does it all. And very well, at that. The pieces are absolutely breath taking. I felt that some brands I have looked at for past projects were way too over priced. Valentino, however, really gives you what you paid for. The detail work is absolutely stunning and most of it is actually hand done. This is just another thing that makes Valentino Valentino.