Giancarlo Giammetti met Valentino Garavani by chance on July 31, 1960, setting in motion one of fashion’s most enduring — and most successful — creative partnerships. Together, they transformed Valentino into a global fashion powerhouse, celebrated for its elegance, craftsmanship, and cultural influence.
In 2016, Giammetti co-founded the Fondazione Valentino Garavani e Giancarlo Giammetti to preserve their remarkable legacy, promote creativity, and foster charitable and educational initiatives.
This week in Rome, BoF founder and CEO Imran Amed had the honour of sitting down with Mr Giammetti at PM23, the newly opened home of the foundation, located right next to the Valentino headquarters where their journey together first began.
In this exclusive interview, Mr Giammetti reflects on the founding days of Valentino, the importance of protecting creativity in a fashion market that prioritises commercialisation, and why it is critical for the industry to support future generations of designers who are overlooked by a fashion system under pressure.
“This continuous change of people, using people to cover jobs … it makes a big confusion. None of them really becomes a part of the legacy of the company. That’s what is a big problem today,” says Giammetti.
Key Insights:
- Giammetti highlights the strength of his decades-long partnership with Valentino, emphasising their deep personal and professional connection. “We grew up related so much to each other that we cannot be separate,” he says. “Even when we had some rupture in our private life, after a while, we kept our family. That’s why we have such a big family – because all of our friends became friends of our family with us.”
- Giammetti expresses concern about the fashion industry's current state, noting the disconnect between creative integrity and business pressures. "Designers have become their own stars, they have their own style, and they don’t want to really become a witness to the work of the companies where they are hired to prolong life – they want to work for themselves," he says. "It’s not just negative, it’s offensive."
- Giammetti believes in preserving the heritage of fashion through new means. “I hate fashion museums. I think that to see all the mannequins like Madame Tussauds look really like wax things. I don’t think there is a life inside,” he says. “With digital work, you have to work with that to project your legacy in a different way.”
- Giving advice to aspiring creatives, Giammetti encourages young designers to remain true to themselves and avoid distractions. "Be yourself. Don't get distracted. You have to believe in yourself and do what you want."
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