One of the fashion industry’s most influential figures, Italian fashion designer Valentino Garavani, has died at the age of 93, his foundation announced. Renowned for his refined craftsmanship and luxurious evening wear, Valentino dressed generations of the world’s most glamorous women and helped define modern haute couture and modern culture. Valentino was born in 1932 in the northern Italian town of Voghera and rose to global prominence under his first-name moniker.

He trained in Paris, where he honed his skills in some of the city’s most prestigious couture houses, before returning to Italy to establish his own fashion label in Rome in 1959.

Valentino launched the business in 1960, opening a fashion house on Via Condotti in Rome with the backing of his father and his father’s associate, Giancarlo Giammetti. Today, a statement was released on the Instagram of the foundation he shares with Giancarlo Giammetti, which aims to “enhance individual well-being while promoting and passing on an expansive and innovative artistic culture to present and future.”

The statement read in part: "Valentino Garavani passed away today at his Roman residence, surrounded by his loved ones… Valentino Garavani was not only a constant guide and inspiration for all of us, but a true source of light, creativity and vision.”

Over decades, Valentino’s designs graced red carpets, royal events, and high-society gatherings around the world, cementing his status as one of fashion’s most enduring and influential designers.

The designer was noted for dressing generations of the world’s most influential figures, including Jackie Kennedy Onassis, Princess Diana, Julia Roberts, Audrey Hepburn, Elizabeth Taylor, Naomi Campbell, and Queen Rania of Jordan.