Rags for the Richest: A Film About Valentino

"Compared to us, the rest are making rags,” Chanel designer Karl Lagerfeld whispered in the ear of Valentino Garavani, known simply as Valentino, after attending his grand-finale runway show in Rome. Filmmaker Matt Tyrnauer captures this and more in Valentino: The Last Emperor, a documentary about a designer whose life is as glamorous as his clothing—and whose temper is as fiery as his signature color, rosso Valentino.

Now 76, Valentino is one of Italy’s most beloved couturiers. He’s dressed iconic women from Jackie Kennedy to Julia Roberts, and his style, which he describes as “feminine, romantic and glamorous,” has transcended fashion and become accepted as art—literally. In 2007, the Ara Pacis Museum in Rome displayed a retrospective of Valentino designs as part of the designer’s 45th anniversary celebration, which turned out to be his swan song.

Tyrnauer’s camera follows Valentino and his entourage—including business partner and ex-boyfriend Giancarlo Giametti and six pugs: Maude, Margot Monty, Molly, Milton and Maggie—for two years leading up to the celebration, which features a gala, a tearful fashion show and a fireworks finale. “Like a Pagan procession,” Valentino tells Paste, “my clothes were part of a ceremony.” Fellow designers and celebrities traveled to Italy to join the procession, and due to media speculation, most knew to mourn the end of the Valentino Era. Two months later, the designer announced his plans to step down. “I felt that I reached, in that moment, the best of my career,” he says, “and I wanted to leave the party when it was still full.”