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Industry greats like Tom Ford and Donatella Versace, as well as celebrities who adored the designer, gathered for the final tribute to the “Last Emperor of Fashion.”
Pallbearers carry the coffin of Valentino Garavani during his funeral service in Rome on Friday.Deepixel / Getty Images
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Jan. 23, 2026, 10:31 AM EST
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Celebrities and fashion greats gathered in Rome on Friday morning to say their final goodbyes to designer Valentino Garavani, better known as Valentino.
The many fashion celebrities who admired and worked with Valentino came together at the central Basilica di Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri. His funeral comes after a two-day public viewing at the Valentino Foundation’s headquarters.
Some of the biggest names in fashion, including Tom Ford, Donatella Versace, and former Vogue Editor-in-Chief and magazine mogul Anna Wintour, attended the funeral. Hollywood stars, like Anne Hathaway, were also in attendance.
British fashion editor Anna Wintour arrives at the funeral ceremony in Rome on Friday.Stefano Rellandini / AFP via Getty Images
Anne Hathaway arrives at Valentino’s funeral.Stefano Rellandini / AFP – Getty Images
“Now he rests forever surrounded by eternal beauty, a most fitting next chapter for the one true Emperor who gifted us all a legacy of unparalled magnificence… I love you my darling, and I miss you already,” Hathaway, who wore Valentino on her wedding day, said in an Instagram tribute.
Scenes from the Valentino funeral.AP; AFP-Getty Images
While most in attendance wore black for Valentino’s final tribute, others opted for red, honoring the designer’s signature color, which became synonymous with the iconic fashion house. Fans of Valentino also gathered outside the church to pay their respects for the last time.
Fans outside the Basilic of Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri during the funeral Friday.Stefano Rellandini / AFP – Getty Images
Donatella Versace arrives for the funeral.Ernesto Ruscio / Getty Images
British actress Elizabeth Hurley and her son Damian arrive at the service.Stefano Rellandini / AFP via Getty Images
Actress Anne Hathaway mourns the late Italian fashion designer. Fondazione Valentino Garavani e Giancarlo Giammetti / Anadolu via Getty Images
The iconic designer and couturier died at 93 of natural causes at his residence in Rome. The man widely known as the “Last Emperor of Fashion” was a favorite of celebrities and international and American royalty. Jackie Kennedy Onassis wore an ensemble by Valentino, one of her favorite designers at the time, for her second wedding to Aristotle Onassis.
A mourner watches Valentino’s coffin pass on Friday.Massimo Percossi / EPA via Shutterstock
Valentino’s eponymous label has appeared countless times at Academy Awards and Met Galas, donned by Julia Roberts and Cate Blanchett as they accepted Oscars, and by Pedro Pascal, who wowed the Met Gala in Valentino red-and-black shorts.
Isabel Yip
Isabel Yip is a news associate for NBC News.
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