Fashion legend Valentino will celebrate 45 years in the business with a travelling exhibition starting next July.
The exhibit will showcase the historic creations and highlights of his lengthy career, including some of his best-known designs.
It will start in Paris, where the 74-year-old stylist has presented a number of collections in recent years.
"We're looking at Paris because it has welcomed Valentino with such great spontaneity and enthusiasm," explained Giancarlo Giammetti, his business partner and lifelong companion.
Unlike the celebrations for his last big anniversary five years ago, which centred around a single lavish party in Hollywood, the 2007 event will take in a number of major cities around the world.
St Petersburg is one of the planned stops, where the show will go on display against the prestigious backdrop of the Hermitage Museum.
Although the final itinerary is yet to be confirmed, the exhibition will also stop in Rome, where Valentino has spent many years and where he has pledged to help create a Museum
of Fashion.
Valentino, whose full name is Valentino Garavani, was born in the industrial town of Voghera north of Milan on May 11, 1932.
From an early age he showed a passion for art and design and at 17 moved to Paris to study at the Ecole des Beaux Arts.
His apprentice jobs included working with the fashion houses of Jean Desses and Guy Laroche.
In 1960 he opened an atelier in Rome's chic Via Condotti and made a name for himself among the Hollywood stars who flocked to the Italian capital in its Dolce Vita heyday.
It was at this time that people started calling him the Golden Boy of Italian couture.
In Rome, Valentino joined forces with Giammetti, at the time an architecture student, who became the financial brain behind his worldwide expansion.
Valentino credits Giammetti for allowing him to "live in the clouds" by keeping him away from the "day-to-day chores of life".
Valentino made his international debut in Florence in 1962 to a rapturous reception from the fashion press.
By 1965 he had already dressed a host of A-list stars and established himself as the leader of Italian fashion.
In 1967 he received America's Neiman Marcus Award, a sort of fashion Oscar, for his "no colour" collection.
The following year he opened his first pret-a-porter in Milan.
Valentino's famous clients - often opting for trademark red creations - have included Joan Collins, Princess Grace of Monaco, Princess Diana, Elizabeth Taylor, Audrey Hepburn and
Sophia Loren.
Jacqueline Kennedy wore Valentino when she married Aristotle Onassis in 1968.
In 1998 Valentino sold his company for 300 million dollars to Holding di Partecipazioni Industriali which then sold it to another Italian luxury goods company, Marzotto.
He said he did it because he wants the Valentino name to live on after him.
Two years ago Marzotto successfully listed the Valentino fashion house on the Milan stock exchange.
In 2000 the American Council of Fashion Designers gave him its Lifetime Achievement Award, which is considered the Council's highest honour.
Earlier this year he received France's most prestigious award, becoming a member of the Legion d'Honneur.
Valentino claims that the secret to his success is the fact he has never followed fashion trends.
"I never offended a woman nor made her look ridiculous. I have always gone my own way and the result of this is that everyone else copies me," he said.
"What really disturbs me about some women today is that they have so much to choose from they don't know what to do any more. Brunettes go blonde and their hair comes out the colour of clay, they walk on these ridiculously high sandals and carry those dreadful embroidered bags.
"I can't stand it! Long live the simplicity of a white top and a pair of blue trousers!" he added.
