22-05-2025
The New Fondazione Valentino Garavani and Giancarlo Giammetti Is Every Bit as Chic and Glamorous as You'd Expect
The magnum opus of a lifelong creative partnership, the Fondazione Valentino Garavani and Giancarlo Giammetti opens its doors to the public for the first time in Rome's Piazza Mignanelli on May 22. Conceived as a way to preserve and share the legacy they have built, the foundation reflects their unerring dedication to a cultivated interpretation of beauty, their passion for art, and engagement in philanthropy. Located right next to the halls of the Valentino atelier, it's housed in a former Vatican school and printing house for Propaganda Fide, the Holy See's dicastery for the propagation of the faith.
With the election of a new Pope, the Vatican is definitely having a moment, but this is less divine intervention than divine design. Polished to celestial gleam and christened PM23 (after its chic address: 23 Piazza Mignanelli), the newly reborn space is poised to become Rome's latest cultural altar. It will debut with a high-gloss exhibition titled 'Horizons—Red,' curated by style-savvy scholar Pamela Golbin, who edited the archival fashion pieces, with art historian Anna Coliva overseeing the selection of artworks.
While the cardinal-red nod to apostolic grandeur feels timely, red is, of course, Valentino's holy grail—a signature so iconic it deserves its own Pantone. 'It's a dialogue between a color that stands as an oeuvre in its own right within Mr. Valentino's body of work, and a selection of artworks in which red becomes the lens through which each artist reveals their poetic vision,' remarked Golbin. Unlike the Pinault or Arnault foundations, which primarily showcase private collections, the Fondazione Valentino Garavani and Giancarlo Giammetti charts a different course: it will host not only exhibitions, but also workshops, talks, and cultural activations, open to diverse voices, disciplines, and communities.
In a rarefied correspondence between haute couture and fine art, Valentino's legendary red dresses are displayed amid a curated constellation of modern and contemporary masterpieces on loan from institutions, private collectors, and from Giammetti and Valentino's own acquisitions, featuring works by Jeff Koons, Gerhard Richter, Helen Frankenthaler, Picasso, Rothko, and Basquiat, among others. 'There are many exhibitions about art and fashion today, but they're not always about dialogue,' observed Golbin. 'Here, we've taken a theme central to Mr. Valentino's legacy, inviting both disciplines to respond.'
