Valentino honored by Couture Council
Valentino is once again being noted, this time for artistry of fashion as the 2011 honoree of the yearly Couture Council Award. The day before Fashion Week hits, on Sept. 7, The Couture Council of The Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology will present him with the award during a gala.
“It’s such a tremendous honor to receive it, especially as it is related to couture, which everybody knows has always been my passion and the center of my work,” Valentino told WWD during a telephone interview.
Highlights of Valentino’s five-decade career include designing for Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Grace Kelly, Farah Diba and Daphne Guinness, who will be displaying her personal clothing collection at FIT this fall.
Valentino shares this honor with many prestigious names in the biz: Karl Lagerfeld, Dries Van Noten, Isabel Toledo, Giorgio Armani, Alber Elbaz and Ralph Rucci have all been recognized with the Couture Council Award.
Director of The Museum at FIT, Valerie Steele, explains Valentino’s importance: He “dedicated his whole life to creating the most beautiful, perfect example of high fashion, which is really rare and valuable. You can see his incredible dedication to the technique of couture and his exquisite, perfect taste combined with an almost fanatical perfectionism.”
For anyone curious about learning more about the designer, Valentino is in the process of creating a virtual archive teeming with his work: photos, articles, drawings and, he said, “everything concerning Valentino.” Or you can just visit his website, www.valentino.com.
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