Stars of fashion and film say farewell to Italy’s haute couture ’emperor’ Valentino | World News

Stars of the runway and the screen have said farewell to fashion designer Valentino at a church service in Rome.

The biggest names ​in fashion – including Donatella Versace, Tom Ford and Maria Grazia Chiuri – gathered in the Basilica di Santa ⁠Maria degli Angeli on Friday for the funeral.

The couturier, who built one of ⁠Italy’s most celebrated fashion houses, died on Monday aged 93, with the news being met by an outpouring of tributes from global celebrities.

The crowd of mourners – which included actresses Anne Hathaway and Elizabeth Hurley and models Natalia Vodianova and Bianca Brandolini d’Adda – was dotted with splashes of his signature colour “Valentino red”.

The mourners also included Vogue’s global editorial director Anna Wintour, American socialite Olivia Palermo and Valentino’s current creative director Alessandro Michele and his predecessor Pierpaolo Piccioli.

Valentino’s chief executive Riccardo Bellini, French billionaire Francois-Henri Pinault, Antoine Arnault, the eldest son of LVMH chairman Bernard Arnault, and Rachid Mohamed Rachid, ‌chief executive of Mayhoola, also attended.

Valentino’s co-founder Giancarlo Giammetti, dressed in ​a tailored black satin suit, and his partner, ​Bruce Hoeksema, accompanied the wooden coffin as it entered the church, drawing applause from the crowd outside.

“Through him, I discovered beauty, a beauty that followed us throughout our lives, that has kept us busy. We met when we were kids, we dreamed the same dreams, ‌we managed to realise some of them, I would even say many of them,” Mr Giammetti said in ‌his eulogy.

Mr Hoeksema said: “You ​were beside me when words were not needed. Life was not always perfect, but it was real. One day at a time, for more than 40 years.”

Valentino dresses became a fixture of Hollywood red carpets – with Julia Roberts, Reese Witherspoon, Jennifer Lopez and Cate Blanchett among the stars to have worn his designs.

Other famous names included Princess Diana, Queen Rania of Jordan, and former US first lady Jacqueline Kennedy – who wore his dresses throughout her mourning period for John F Kennedy.

Hundreds gathered at the basilica, which was designed by Michelangelo and built on the ruins of ancient Roman baths, and famed for the red of its marbled walls and columns.

More than 10,000 people have paid their respects to ​Valentino over the past two days as he lay in state in Rome’s Piazza Mignanelli, next to his fashion house’s historical headquarters.

Born Valentino Garavani, in Voghera, northern Italy, he became known simply as Valentino – sharing the name with his eponymous fashion line.