Stunning Valentino Haute Couture (1960s)

By the mid-1960s, Valentino was a favorite designer of the world’s best-dressed women.

Valentino’s international debut took place in 1962, at the Pitti Palace in Florence. The show cemented the designer’s reputation and attracted the attention of socialites and aristocratic women from around the world. Within a few years, Valentino’s designs were considered the pinnacle of Italian couture. In 1967, he received the prestigious Neiman Marcus Fashion Award.

His client list included the Begum Aga Khan, Queen Paola of Belgium and movie stars Elizabeth Taylor and Audrey Hepburn. Jacqueline Kennedy developed an interest in the designer’s work after admiring friends in several Valentino ensembles. In 1964, Kennedy ordered six dresses in black and white, which she wore during the year following the assassination of her husband, President John F. Kennedy (source).

In July 1962 in the last hour on the last day of the Autumn shows Valnetino was given an opportunity to present a collection that became known as Sala Bianca. The designs were showcased at the stunning ball room, the White Hall, of the Pitti Palce. Overnight, Valentino Garavani was famous internationally via

Valentino Fashion Show, Salla Bianca, Palazzo Pitti, Firenze, 1964 via

In 1964 Jacqueline Kennedy chose a Valentino dress for the wedding with Aristotle Onassis. The gown was a part of the Sfilata Bianca collection shown in 1968. If Valentino was a fashion darling of the global press and buyers before, Sfilata Bianca (and its connection to Jackie Onassis) was the final step in conquering the States and securing his position as one of the best and most influential fashion designers of our time via

Valentino, Ensemble, photographed by Henry Clarke, 1968 via

Valentino, Vogue, 1968 via

Veruschka, Valentino, Vogue, 1965 via

Audrey Hepburn in Amazing Valentino Dresses for Vogue (1969)

Audrey Hepburn in Valentino Dress, photographed by Paolo Barbieri for Vogue, 1969 via

Audrey Hepburn in Valentino Dress, photographed by Paolo Barbieri for Vogue, 1969 via

Marisa Berenson in Valentino by Henry Clarke (1968)

Marisa Berenson was born in New York City in 1947. Her maternal grandmother was the fashion designer Elsa Schiaparelli. Berenson had risen to prominence in the early 1960s and would later appear on the cover of the July 1970 issue of Vogue and in numerous fashion layouts for the magazine. Yves Saint Laurent once dubbed her “the girl of the Seventies”.

Eventually she was cast in several prominent film roles amongst others the Jewish department store heiress Natalia Landauer in the 1972 film Cabaret, for which she received some acclaim (including two Golden Globe nominations, a BAFTAnomination and an award from the National Board of Review).

American actress and model Marisa Berenson wearing a white organdy Valentino dress photographed by Vogue photographer Henry Clarke, in Cy Twombly’s Rome apartment in 1968 via

American actress and model Marisa Berenson wearing a white organdy Valentino dress photographed by Vogue photographer Henry Clarke, in Cy Twombly’s Rome apartment in 1968 via

American actress and model Marisa Berenson wearing a white organdy Valentino dress photographed by Vogue photographer Henry Clarke, in Cy Twombly’s Rome apartment in 1968 via