For Valentino,
Gala of All Galas
At Villa Borghese
The Designer's Consigliere
Throws a Party in Rome
As a Fashion Era Ends
By STACY MEICHTRY
ROME -- Giancarlo Giammetti fretted over the seating chart for tomorrow's luminous gala dinner in Rome to celebrate Italian fashion designer Valentino Garavani.
Across from the Colosseum, an ancient Roman temple dedicated to Venus, the goddess of love, has been partially rebuilt in Mr. Garavani's honor. An arena-size tent has been put up in the Villa Borghese gardens to host a dinner and ball on Saturday night for more than 1,000 guests. A fleet of chauffeured cars will shuttle guests through the narrow streets of Rome.
"Who do I put there? Mick Jagger or Uma Thurman or Sarah Jessica Parker?" Mr. Giammetti asked out loud.
Two of the dinner's most anticipated guests, actresses Gwyneth Paltrow and Meryl Streep, had just canceled, upsetting the careful seating arrangements Mr. Giammetti had been preparing for weeks.
"Acts of God," he grumbled.
For nearly half a century, Mr. Giammetti has worked quietly behind the scenes and at the side of Mr. Garavani, one of the world's most celebrated designers.
When Mr. Garavani sketched his floor-sweeping red gowns, Mr. Giammetti measured the fabric. After the designer's catwalk bows, Mr. Giammetti took orders backstage. And as the Italian label grew, Mr. Giammetti poured the profits into lavish art collections and parties that glorified his partner's name.
A Masterpiece
This week, Mr. Giammetti has been feverishly at work on a project he considers his masterpiece: the 45th anniversary celebration of the Valentino fashion house.
The three-day event, which kicks off in Rome today, could be the last big celebration for both men. Though the 75-year-old Mr. Garavani is the star of the celebration, Mr. Giammetti is taking the credit.
"I'm not trying to take his spotlight," Mr. Giammetti said during a recent interview in his cavernous office near the Spanish Steps. "But I do feel like this celebration is a bit mine."
And yet, the grand feast could have a bittersweet end. Just as the event promises to further enshrine Mr. Garavani's legacy, it's also a reminder of Mr. Giammetti's waning influence.
For decades, some of the world's most celebrated designers have kept a business-savvy consigliere at their side who acted as both a guardian and manager so that the designers could maintain their creative focus.
Giorgio Armani relied on his former partner Sergio Galeotti to handle the label's business affairs until Mr. Galeotti's heart-attack death in 1985. French designer Yves Saint Laurent counted on his onetime lover Pierre Bergé to finance and manage the label.
But as the fashion industry has succumbed to big business, there's little room left for such counselors.
Valentino, which was recently taken over by a private-equity firm, has hired a new chief executive to manage the business affairs over which Mr. Giammetti once reigned.
The upheaval hasn't distracted Mr. Giammetti from his mission of the moment: throwing a party that is as seamless as Mr. Garavani's sumptuous gowns. For the past two years, the designer's silver-haired sidekick, who is 65, has been planning out every detail of the event.
At first, Mr. Giammetti was working on a modest one-day event centered around Mr. Garavani's haute couture show on Saturday. Michele Norsa, the label's then-CEO, had been "not very generous" with the purse strings, Mr. Giammetti says, so he couldn't stretch his imagination much further.
But when Mr. Norsa suddenly left the company last year, Mr. Giammetti took advantage of the power vacuum to expand the scope of the festivities.
By the time a new CEO arrived months later, Mr. Giammetti had committed company money to financing a $272,000 restoration of the ancient foundations of the Temple of Venus. He had also hired set designer Dante Ferretti to erect corridors of towering fiberglass columns on top of the restored foundations. The temple will be the site of a red-carpet cocktail party tonight.
Major Headache
Over the past few days, the preparations have gathered pace. Mr. Giammetti has taken his laptop to bed to analyze and rearrange the dinner's seating charts for celebrities ranging from Mr. Jagger to Princess Caroline of Monaco.
Finalizing the seating arrangement has been a major headache. Ms. Paltrow had broken her knee, while Ms. Streep had to fly to Stockholm to meet with members of pop group ABBA, Mr. Giammetti said. She is to star in the movie version of "Mamma Mia!" the Broadway musical based on the group's music.
The two actresses were to have been seated near Mr. Valentino, so the diagram had to be carefully redone. Mr. Giammetti's staff lined a conference room next to his office with little pink disks representing tables to help Mr. Giammetti visualize the battlefield.
Earlier that day, Mr. Giammetti toured the grounds of the Ara Pacis, an ancient Roman altar that will host a retrospective of Mr. Garavani's designs. Clad in an impeccably cut, chocolate-colored suit, Mr. Giammetti agonized over a patch of ugly mold that clung to the surface of a nearby fountain. Specialists need to be called in immediately, Mr. Giammetti said.
Mr. Giammetti's attention to detail has helped drive the Valentino label from the start. Mr. Garavani actually founded the fashion house 48, not 45, years ago in 1959. But the brand did not begin to flourish until the designer met Mr. Giammetti, then in his early 20s, in a Rome café on the glamorous Via Veneto in 1960.
At the time, Mr. Giammetti was pursuing a degree in architecture and had no ambitions to plunge into fashion. A romance between the two men, which Mr. Giammetti acknowledged but declined to discuss, blossomed.
Alter Ego
In the years that followed, Mr. Giammetti became the designer's deal maker, negotiating distribution of Valentino's creations with top U.S. department stores and crafting lucrative licensing agreements for perfumes and other accessories. He would fly around the world, making sure women ranging from Elizabeth Taylor to Jacqueline Kennedy wore Valentino's elegant and luxurious designs.
Mr. Garavani and Mr. Giammetti "are like two souls in the same body," said Mr. Norsa, the former Valentino CEO.
Mr. Giammetti has been the designer's alter ego in both substance and style. The consigliere rises at 5 a.m. to scan the newspapers for coverage of the designer; Mr. Garavani rolls out of bed around 10 and never reads the newspaper.
"He was the gentleman who kept me away from all the problems and antipathy," the bronzed designer mused yesterday while touring the partially reconstructed Temple of Venus.
Mr. Garavani had recently flown in from Paris, where he had been prepping models expected to walk in his Saturday couture show here. Photographers and fashion press swarmed around the designer.
Off on the side, Mr. Giammetti stood in the afternoon sun, occasionally glancing at his watch. All week, Mr. Giammetti has been studying the skies of Rome for any signs of rain that might spoil the celebrations.
"I'm praying," he said.
Gala of All Galas
At Villa Borghese
The Designer's Consigliere
Throws a Party in Rome
As a Fashion Era Ends
By STACY MEICHTRY
ROME -- Giancarlo Giammetti fretted over the seating chart for tomorrow's luminous gala dinner in Rome to celebrate Italian fashion designer Valentino Garavani.
Across from the Colosseum, an ancient Roman temple dedicated to Venus, the goddess of love, has been partially rebuilt in Mr. Garavani's honor. An arena-size tent has been put up in the Villa Borghese gardens to host a dinner and ball on Saturday night for more than 1,000 guests. A fleet of chauffeured cars will shuttle guests through the narrow streets of Rome.
"Who do I put there? Mick Jagger or Uma Thurman or Sarah Jessica Parker?" Mr. Giammetti asked out loud.
Two of the dinner's most anticipated guests, actresses Gwyneth Paltrow and Meryl Streep, had just canceled, upsetting the careful seating arrangements Mr. Giammetti had been preparing for weeks.
"Acts of God," he grumbled.
For nearly half a century, Mr. Giammetti has worked quietly behind the scenes and at the side of Mr. Garavani, one of the world's most celebrated designers.
When Mr. Garavani sketched his floor-sweeping red gowns, Mr. Giammetti measured the fabric. After the designer's catwalk bows, Mr. Giammetti took orders backstage. And as the Italian label grew, Mr. Giammetti poured the profits into lavish art collections and parties that glorified his partner's name.
A Masterpiece
This week, Mr. Giammetti has been feverishly at work on a project he considers his masterpiece: the 45th anniversary celebration of the Valentino fashion house.
The three-day event, which kicks off in Rome today, could be the last big celebration for both men. Though the 75-year-old Mr. Garavani is the star of the celebration, Mr. Giammetti is taking the credit.
"I'm not trying to take his spotlight," Mr. Giammetti said during a recent interview in his cavernous office near the Spanish Steps. "But I do feel like this celebration is a bit mine."
And yet, the grand feast could have a bittersweet end. Just as the event promises to further enshrine Mr. Garavani's legacy, it's also a reminder of Mr. Giammetti's waning influence.
For decades, some of the world's most celebrated designers have kept a business-savvy consigliere at their side who acted as both a guardian and manager so that the designers could maintain their creative focus.
Giorgio Armani relied on his former partner Sergio Galeotti to handle the label's business affairs until Mr. Galeotti's heart-attack death in 1985. French designer Yves Saint Laurent counted on his onetime lover Pierre Bergé to finance and manage the label.
But as the fashion industry has succumbed to big business, there's little room left for such counselors.
Valentino, which was recently taken over by a private-equity firm, has hired a new chief executive to manage the business affairs over which Mr. Giammetti once reigned.
The upheaval hasn't distracted Mr. Giammetti from his mission of the moment: throwing a party that is as seamless as Mr. Garavani's sumptuous gowns. For the past two years, the designer's silver-haired sidekick, who is 65, has been planning out every detail of the event.
At first, Mr. Giammetti was working on a modest one-day event centered around Mr. Garavani's haute couture show on Saturday. Michele Norsa, the label's then-CEO, had been "not very generous" with the purse strings, Mr. Giammetti says, so he couldn't stretch his imagination much further.
But when Mr. Norsa suddenly left the company last year, Mr. Giammetti took advantage of the power vacuum to expand the scope of the festivities.
By the time a new CEO arrived months later, Mr. Giammetti had committed company money to financing a $272,000 restoration of the ancient foundations of the Temple of Venus. He had also hired set designer Dante Ferretti to erect corridors of towering fiberglass columns on top of the restored foundations. The temple will be the site of a red-carpet cocktail party tonight.
Major Headache
Over the past few days, the preparations have gathered pace. Mr. Giammetti has taken his laptop to bed to analyze and rearrange the dinner's seating charts for celebrities ranging from Mr. Jagger to Princess Caroline of Monaco.
Finalizing the seating arrangement has been a major headache. Ms. Paltrow had broken her knee, while Ms. Streep had to fly to Stockholm to meet with members of pop group ABBA, Mr. Giammetti said. She is to star in the movie version of "Mamma Mia!" the Broadway musical based on the group's music.
The two actresses were to have been seated near Mr. Valentino, so the diagram had to be carefully redone. Mr. Giammetti's staff lined a conference room next to his office with little pink disks representing tables to help Mr. Giammetti visualize the battlefield.
Earlier that day, Mr. Giammetti toured the grounds of the Ara Pacis, an ancient Roman altar that will host a retrospective of Mr. Garavani's designs. Clad in an impeccably cut, chocolate-colored suit, Mr. Giammetti agonized over a patch of ugly mold that clung to the surface of a nearby fountain. Specialists need to be called in immediately, Mr. Giammetti said.
Mr. Giammetti's attention to detail has helped drive the Valentino label from the start. Mr. Garavani actually founded the fashion house 48, not 45, years ago in 1959. But the brand did not begin to flourish until the designer met Mr. Giammetti, then in his early 20s, in a Rome café on the glamorous Via Veneto in 1960.
At the time, Mr. Giammetti was pursuing a degree in architecture and had no ambitions to plunge into fashion. A romance between the two men, which Mr. Giammetti acknowledged but declined to discuss, blossomed.
Alter Ego
In the years that followed, Mr. Giammetti became the designer's deal maker, negotiating distribution of Valentino's creations with top U.S. department stores and crafting lucrative licensing agreements for perfumes and other accessories. He would fly around the world, making sure women ranging from Elizabeth Taylor to Jacqueline Kennedy wore Valentino's elegant and luxurious designs.
Mr. Garavani and Mr. Giammetti "are like two souls in the same body," said Mr. Norsa, the former Valentino CEO.
Mr. Giammetti has been the designer's alter ego in both substance and style. The consigliere rises at 5 a.m. to scan the newspapers for coverage of the designer; Mr. Garavani rolls out of bed around 10 and never reads the newspaper.
"He was the gentleman who kept me away from all the problems and antipathy," the bronzed designer mused yesterday while touring the partially reconstructed Temple of Venus.
Mr. Garavani had recently flown in from Paris, where he had been prepping models expected to walk in his Saturday couture show here. Photographers and fashion press swarmed around the designer.
Off on the side, Mr. Giammetti stood in the afternoon sun, occasionally glancing at his watch. All week, Mr. Giammetti has been studying the skies of Rome for any signs of rain that might spoil the celebrations.
"I'm praying," he said.
