Designer Pierpaolo Piccioli Departs Valentino After 25 Years: A Look at His Memorable Red Carpet Moments

Pierpaolo Piccioli’s 25-year legacy at Valentino is coming to an end.

On Friday, designer and creative director Valentina (56) announced that he was leaving the fashion brand after almost three decades.

“Not all stories have a beginning and an end. Some live a kind of eternal present that shines with a bright light, so strong that it leaves no shadows,” Piccioli wrote in Italian on Instagram.

“I have been in this company for 25 years and for 25 years I have existed and lived together with the people who have woven the threads of these beautiful stories that are mine and ours with me. Everything existed and exists because of the people I knew, with whom I worked, with whom I shared dreams and created beauty, with whom I built something that belongs to everyone, and which remains immutable and tangible. I carry this heritage of love, dreams, beauty and humanity with me, today and forever.”

Lady Gaga in Valentino at the 2019 Golden Globe Awards.

George Pimentel/WireImage

Piccioli went on to thank “every person who made this possible in one way or another, it was a privilege and an honor to share my journey and my dreams with you.” He also expressed his gratitude to founder Valentino Garavano and Giancarlo Giammetti, a longtime business partner and friend of the 91-year-old designer.

The company said in a statement it shared The Hollywood Reporter: “Since 2016, Piccioli, in the role of creative director, has significantly influenced the House’s path with his vision, commitment and innovative spirit, influencing a key chapter in the company’s history.”

Whoopi Goldberg, Pierpaolo Piccioli and Carey Mulligan attend the 2021 Met Gala.

Mike Coppola/Getty

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Piccioli’s journey at Valentino began in 1999, when he and fellow designer Maria Grazia Chiuri (who now heads Dior) joined the house as accessories designers. During their tenure, the duo reinvented handbags and eyewear and later designed the Red Valentino line in 2003 before overseeing the entire accessories collection, per Business of fashion.

The duo then moved up the ranks to become co-creative directors in 2008 before Piccioli took over as creative director in 2016.

For the past eight years, the Istituto Europeo di Design graduate has paved the way as the sole brains behind some of the looks seen on Hollywood’s best-dressed stars, including Zendaya, Anne Hathaway, Lady Gaga, Naomi Campbell and more.

Anne Hathaway portrays Barbie in an all-pink look during the Valentino fashion show in Rome

Florence Pugh and Pierpaolo Piccioli at the 2023 Met Gala.

Cindy Ord/MG23/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue

Florence Pugh, who became Valentino’s ambassador in April 2023, easily became one of Piccioli’s celebrity muses.

The Oppenheimer the actress accompanied the designer to the 2023 Met Gala wearing one of his creations — a dramatic white gown paired with floor-length ribbon and a towering feather headdress. Meanwhile, Piccioli was also the driving force behind Pugh’s see-through pink nipple-baring dress that broke the internet in July 2022.

Florence Pugh takes on the Barbie pink trend in a daring see-through dress – see photos

Anne Hathaway in Valentino pink at the label’s Fall 2022 show in July 2022.

Zendaya Covered in Pink Rosettes at the 2023 SAG Awards L: Caption Anne Hathaway in Valentino Pink at the label’s Fall 2022 Fashion Show in July 2022 PHOTO:

Jacopo Raule/Getty

R: Caption Zendaya Covered in Pink Rosettes at the 2023 SAG Awards PHOTO:

Frazer Harrison/Getty

Speaking of pink, Piccioli fully embraced the hue in his Fall 2022 collection, shifting Valentino away from the bold red with which the brand has long been associated. This has led to a resurgence of Barbiecore in the world of high fashion everywhere, from Fashion Week (where Hathaway so boldly wore her hot pink minidress in Rome 2022), to awards season and beyond.

Piccioli will be missed by the fashion world. Celebrities including Campbell, Gigi Hadid, Kate Hudson and Emily Ratajkowski, as well as designers expressed their support under his Instagram post announcing his departure.

Valentino has not yet announced Piccioli’s successor, but according to The Hollywood Reporterhis replacement will be announced soon.

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Source: HIS Education