Valentino Renowned Designer Was Guest on Oprah

Oprah Winfrey recently had renowned designer Valentino as a guest on her show and they discussed the fact that Valentino himself is the subject of a riveting new documentary titled Valentino: The Last Emperor. The film captures the final two years of his remarkable 45-year career from the painstaking process of creating just one of his handmade gowns to his grand parties to his five pugs. In seeing the film and learning about his empire, there is no question that he is truly an amazing artist who is second to none.

About the film itself which Valentino viewed for the first time at documentary's premiere at the 2008 Venice Film Festival, Valentino says he felt like he had been stripped naked. "I had this camera behind my person almost every day for two years, and of course I was working," he says. "And sometimes I was not extremely gentle."

Valentino also says that he never designed for anyone but himself and the woman wearing his dress. "For me, one of the most important things is proportion," he says. "I look very carefully at all the detail of the human body of the woman."

In July 2007, a three-day extravaganza was held in Rome to honor Valentino's 45 years in fashion. Two months later, Valentino retired, but he says he still wakes up with visions of a dress in his mind. "I love to draw. I love to design," he says. "When I am alone in my room, when I am alone somewhere, I still make drawings."

Looking back on his career, Valentino feels he can finally admit one thing to himself. "Finally today I can say it
I am proud of what I did," he says. "But I am proud, too, to stop at the right moment, when the room was full of people."

The question that Oprah asked Valentino that was most interesting to this writer was,
What's the best fashion advice you have for women today?
His response, Keep it simple. "Not to overdo it," he says. "Try to have a nice pair of shoes, a nice bag, a beautiful blouse, a nice skirt, a nice pair of trousers." Words of wisdom from the
emperor
of fashion that every woman can utilize and in my humble opinion, should dress by.

Valentino: The Last Emperor opens in New York on March 18, in Chicago on March 27 and in other select cities April 3. Visit www.ValentinoMovie.com to see if it's playing in a town near you.

Written by BL

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