Rome has changed out of all recognition and become a true "capital of culture", Italian fashion icon Valentino said Thursday, elaborating on his recent decision to return to the Italian capital after almost two decades in Paris.
"Rome has changed utterly thanks to the last two mayors. There are wonderful museums and hotels, you eat well everywhere. This is where I want my museum to be," said the 74-year-old Italian stylist.
"I think of Rome not as a fashion capital but a culture capital".
"I've come back after all those years in Paris because I think it was only right to show affection for the city that adopted me almost 50 years ago," he said, confirming he will present his new haute couture collection here rather than Paris.
The fashion legend was speaking amid preparations for a huge bash marking his 45 years as stylist to some of the world's most glamorous women.
Valentino has promised to turn heads with "the biggest show the fashion world has ever seen".
Although his fashion house is based in Rome, near the Spanish Steps, Valentino has shown his haute couture collections in Paris for the last 17 years and he marked his 40th anniversary as a designer with a splashy party in Hollywood.
The three-day line-up of events begins on July 6 with a retrospective showing some of his historic creations at the new Richard Meir-designed museum hosting the ancient Roman peace monument of Ara Pacis.
The show will be followed by an exclusive dinner in Rome's Villa Borghese park for a slew of celebrity guests, including Princess Caroline of Monaco, actresses Meryl Streep and Gwyneth Paltrow and the editor-in-chief of Vogue US, Anna Wintour.
Oscar-winning set designer Dante Ferretti, enlisted to provide a fitting background for the bash, plans to recreate a copy of the ancient Roman temple of Venus, for whose restoration Valentino is donating 200,000 euros.
The stylist's new winter haute couture collection will be presented on the following day in a historic venue that is just a stone's throw away from the Vatican.
Celebrities will be then be invited to Villa Borghese for another splashy dinner and ball for which Ferretti will again provide a backdrop.
On July 8 the designer and guests return to the Ara Pacis museum for the launching of Valentino's new perfume and a book celebrating his style and designs.
Rome Mayor Walter Veltroni and Deputy Premier Francesco Rutelli, who holds the culture portfolio, have announced that the city was looking for a fitting venue to host a Valentino fashion museum.
VALENTINO'S CAREER.
Valentino, whose full name is Valentino Garavani, was born in the industrial town of Voghera north of Milan on May 11, 1932.
At 17 he moved to Paris to study at the Ecole des Beaux Arts and apprenticed with Jean Desses and Guy Laroche before opening an atelier in Rome.
He quickly earned a celebrity following and joined forces with architecture student Giancarlo Giannetti, who became his lifelong companion as well as the financial brain behind his world-wide expansion.
Valentino credits Giannetti for allowing him to "live in the clouds" by keeping him away from the "day-to-day chores of life".
His most 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 2000 the American Council of Fashion Designers gave him its Lifetime Achievement Award, which is considered the Council's highest honour.
Last 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 colour comes out looking like clay. They walk on these ridiculously high heels 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!"
