Stars of fashion and film bid farewell to haute couture 'emperor' Valentino

Anthony Souza, the godson of late fashion designer Valentino Garavani, who died at the age of 93, carries the coffin outside the Basilica of Saint Mary of the Angels and Martyrs, during the funeral ceremony in Rome, Italy, January 23, 2026. REUTERS/Yara Nardi

ROME, ‌Jan 23 (Reuters) - Valentino, Italy's haute couture "emperor", was laid to rest in Rome on Friday, with ‌the distinctive red he championed in his collections echoed in splashes of crimson among ‌the black-clad mourners.

The biggest names in fashion - including Donatella Versace, Tom Ford and Maria Grazia Chiuri - gathered in the Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli, a church designed by Michelangelo and built on the ruins of ancient Roman baths.