Fashion

Valentino Garavani Dies at 93: Remembering the Italian Fashion Legend

Published

3 months ago

20 January 2026

Photo: Shutterstock

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

4 Minimalist ’90s Styles That Are Back

Published

4 days ago

18 April 2026

Trisha Dona

Photo: Instagram

The 90s aesthetic continues to influence 2026 fashion through clean silhouettes, reduced detailing, and essential wardrobe pieces. The focus remains on minimal detailing rather than embellishment.

Here are 4 90s fashion trends that have made a strong return in 2026.

Slip Dresses

Photo: Instagram

The slip dress remains a key item for 90s minimalism in 2026. It focuses on clean-cut design, and lightweight fabrics without embellishment.

The construction is minimal, often designed for single-piece wear or no layering. The design direction follows the late 90s approach to simple dressing, where fabric and cut define the piece.

Cigarette trousers

Photo: Backgrid

Cigarette trousers and straight-leg denim remain key in 90s-inspired dressing in 2026. The shapes include a narrow, straight cut from waist to hem.

Denim variations use rigid or lightly structured fabrics with limited distressing. The focus is on durability and clean construction, positioning both styles as everyday pieces rather than seasonal items.

Tailored Blazers

Photo: Getty Images

Tailored blazers are key to the 90s minimalism direction. The design emphasis is on defined shoulders, moderate structure, and minimal detailing.

Blazers are styled with straight trousers, denim, or dresses, maintaining a simple styling. It prioritises versatility in work and casual wear.

Minimal Footwear

Photo: Backgrid

Minimal footwear aligns with the 90s-inspired aesthetic in 2026. This includes slim sandals, low-profile heels, and simple strap designs.

The construction uses clean shapes and ease of wear, with minimal embellishment. The focus is on proportion and simplicity.

The 90s influence in 2026 is seen in consistent silhouettes, reduced detailing, and a focus on functional wardrobe pieces. The emphasis is on clothing designed for repeated wear, with styling kept simple.

Fashion

Lauryn Hill Appears with Her Children in Denim Tears’s New Spring/Summer 2026 Campaign

Published

5 days ago

17 April 2026

Ene Unazi

Photo: Instagram

Founder and creative director Tremaine Emory taps Lauryn Hill to front Denim Tears’s latest Spring/Summer 2026 campaign, marking a new installment in the brand’s ongoing in-house denim project. The shoot places Hill in a black-and-white denim design and it’s cultural roots.

Photo: Instagram

Shot by Liam MacRae and Justin Sarinana, the campaign frames Hill against a school-style backdrop. She appears in layered denim piece featuring Denim Tears’s signature embroidered cotton wreath motif placed closely across the fabric so the pattern becomes part of the outfit and not just a detail. The styling is completed with denim accessories, wide clear-framed sunglasses, and stacked bangle jewelry.

Photo: Instagram

Hill’s look centers on layered denim construction, with the embroidered detailing positioned within the outfit. Visible stitching and surface texture are highlighted through the monochrome photography, allowing the texture of the jeanswear to remain the main point.

Photo: Instagram

The campaign continues Denim Tears’s approach under Emory, where clothing is used as a medium to reference cultural history through design and material execution.

She appears with her children Selah Marley, YG Marley, Sara Marley, and Johnny Cash showing different ways the same pieces can be worn.

Photo: Instagram

Fashion

Stella McCartney x H&M Return With New Collection

Published

6 days ago

16 April 2026

Trisha Dona

H&M

Stella McCartney is set to collaborate with H&M for a Spring 2026 collection, marking her second partnership with the retailer following their initial partnership in 2026. The project is scheduled to be launched in selected H&M stores and online.

The project revisits McCartney’s design archive, with a focus on tailoring, ready-to-wear pieces pieces reinterpreted for a wider retail audience. The collection continues her use of certified and recycled materials.

H&M

Materials used across the collection include recycled textiles, organic cotton, certified wool systems, recycled glass beads, regenerative cotton, and materials derived from agricultural waste streams. H&M also provides transparency information on garment tags, outlining sourcing and material composition.

Stella McCartney describes the collaboration as part of her wider approach to responsible fashion design, stating:

“It’s about pushing the industry forward and proving that desirable fashion can be made with more responsible materials.”

H&M

She also addresses the intent behind the partnership in relation to reach and accessibility:

“I’ve always believed fashion should be a force for change. Working with H&M again allows that conversation to reach a wider audience.”

H&M

H&M describes the collection as combining wardrobe staples with McCartney’s established design codes associated with her label. The collaboration is part of H&M’s ongoing series of designer partnerships that combine high-street distribution with established fashion houses.