Giancarlo Giammetti: The ultimate word on creative directors
Valentino’s co-founder declares: “Style must be defended like freedom”
At Rome’s Forme festival – a celebration of fashion academies – Giancarlo Giammetti delivered what may stand as his ultimate word on creative directors. Between recollections of Valentino’s golden era and warnings about today’s industry, one declaration rang out like a battle cry:
“Style must be defended like freedom.”
The Valentino co-founder served as guest speaker for the third talk of Forme – Perspectives on Fashion, Art, and Creativity, held March 21-22 at Massimiliano Fuksas’ striking Nuvola complex. In conversation with Tg1’s fashion director Barbara Modesti before an audience of students, Giammetti wove personal history into a masterclass on fashion’s shifting values.
Beauty as a form of radical resistance
“True beauty transcends aesthetics,” Giammetti asserted. “For Valentino and me, it now represents peace and serenity.” This philosophy drives their PM23 Foundation at Rome’s 23 Piazza Mignanelli, where fashion and art converge deliberately. “We’re simply honouring what always was: to create beauty through art and fashion.”
The lost art of creative freedom
His advice to emerging designers cut through the noise: “Create what you love. Believe in what you do, in your style, and try to assert it – even if times have changed.” The comparison to his and Valentino’s early struggles was inevitable. “Valentino and I were two twenty-year-olds coming together, facing a thousand difficulties. Today, the times impose business logic, and designers are no longer free to create. The system demands economic values. But the true values are those tied to solitude, freedom, and beauty.”
He recalled Valentino’s epiphany in Barcelona: “Spanish women in red at the opera, crimson flowers everywhere – that became his red. Not a Pantone, but blood and passion made visible.”
Creativity, not algorithms
Giammetti’s voice turned wry discussing fashion’s digital decay: “We dined with Warhol; Valentino dedicated collections to Basquiat. Art has always been fundamental to him.”
Now? Designers create for Instagram’s hunger, not women’s lives. “We didn’t need to make a fuss on the runway or send messages. Today, with social media, it seems that designers make clothes more for photos on social media than for women.”
He praised the talent in the room but issued a warning: “Defend your style. Creative directors now bend to corporate wills—Valentino’s era of four-person ateliers is gone.”
Heritage vs. hype: Giancarlo Giammetti on creative directors – The ultimate word
Here came his most pointed critique as he pronounced the ultimate word on creative directors:
“The relationship between a brand’s heritage and business strategy must be respected by creative directors. It’s not about copying the archive, but neither should it be turned into a mockery.”
The unspoken reference to Alessandro Michele’s Valentino tenure hovered like Roman humidity.
Giancarlo Giammetti: Support to young creatives
When prompted for a favourite anecdote, Giammetti shared: “We were visiting Queen Elizabeth, and Valentino said, ‘Your Majesty, may I introduce my assistant?’ I wanted to die.”
The crowd erupted in laughter—and later, a standing ovation—as he confirmed the Garavani Foundation’s mission: “To support young creatives.”
Final thoughts
At Forme – Perspectives on Fashion, Art, and Creativity, Giancarlo Giammetti offered clear, wholehearted guidance. His reflections encapsulated an unrepeatable chapter in fashion history—a true lesson for the younger generation. Yet, it also served as a powerful reminder for those beyond their youth.
His support for emerging creatives was evident. Yet, what resonated most was his ultimate word on creative directors: respect heritage, don’t merely copy the archive, and never turn it into a circus—wisdom much needed in today’s collapsing fashion industry.
In short, Giammetti distilled sixty years of fashion work into pure doctrine:
- Style is sovereignty – defend it or lose it.
- Beauty is responsibility – not Instagram currency.
- Legacy isn’t Lego – don’t dismantle what you should elevate.
In an industry suffocating under frequent changes and instability, his words charted a course.
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