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Directed by Matt Tyrnauer
You don’t need to be a fashion expert to enjoy this fascinating documentary about 77 year old Valentino Garavani. Apart from the voyeuristic enjoyment of being able to share the lives of the obscenely rich, this documentary is really about the team of people who has supported Valentino on his ascendancy to rule haute couture, particularly his lifetime partner Giancarlo Giammetti. The cumulation is a celebration of Valentino’s achievements over the last 45 years, with Rome’s Coliseum being filled with dresses from his lifetime of designing.
Described as a love story, the film captures Giancarlo’s dedication as he runs the Valentino enterprise and deals with changing business practices, leaving Valentino to drape material over naked models in order to create yet another masterpiece. He is also Valentino’s twenty-four hour personal assistant, subduing the perfectly tanned Valentino’s many tantrums, reassuring him continually and even reminding him when his secretary’s son has graduated from college. Giancarlo also helps look after their 5 pugs which live in the lap of luxury and accompany them as they travel in planes, yachts and limos.
Matt Tyrnauer is a correspondent for Vanity Fair and his footage captures the last months of Valentino’s reign. Valentino looks like he could go forever but ways of running a business in the 21st century have meant that commerce has become more important than creativity. All Valentino’s garments are hand-sown by a troupe of faithful seamstresses headed by Antoniette de Angelis who has been with Valentino forever. Although he denies that he is considering retirement in the film, it is not long after the filming that Valentino decides to leave the pressures of the fashion industry and enjoy his life with Giancarlo and their pugs. This documentary is a great ode to one of the world’s truly great partnerships.
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