Fashion designer Valentino Garavani, founder of the Valentino fashion house, has passed away.

Valentino Garavani
Valentino Garavani passed away on January 19 at his residence in Rome, surrounded by his loved ones. The farewell to the designer is scheduled for January 21 and 22 at Minyanelli Square, and the funeral will take place on Friday at the Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri at 11:00 local time, the publication reports.

The Italian designer was born on May 11, 1932, in Voghera, a small town in northern Italy. At the age of 17, he moved to Paris, where he studied at the School of Fine Arts and the Syndicate of High Fashion. In 1959, Garavani returned to Rome, and in 1960, together with his partner Giancarlo Giammetti, he founded his fashion house.

The first show that brought the designer orders from international clients took place in 1962 in Florence. One of his first clients was Jacqueline Kennedy, who in 1964 ordered six dresses for mourning her husband, the assassinated U.S. President John Kennedy.

In 1998, Garavani and Giancarlo Giammetti sold the Valentino brand to the Italian conglomerate HdP for $300 million, and in 2002 it was acquired by Marzotto Appareli. In 2007, Valentino announced the end of his fashion career after his final show in Paris.