Tamara Mellon’s life was forever changed when she was first introduced to the late, legendary fashion designer, Valentino Garavani, 26 years ago.
At the time, a recently-engaged Mellon, co-founder of luxury footwear brand Jimmy Choo, was juggling work and plans for her dream wedding — and her big day was taking a back seat to her demanding job.
But while working the Oscars back in 2000, she bumped into Carlos Souza, a member of Valentino’s inner circle and his head of public relations — and the pair began chatting about her upcoming nuptials.
“I said, I don’t have a dress yet,” Mellon recalled to The Post. “He said, ‘You have to get on a plane and go to Rome right now.’” Valentino, Souza assured, would be happy to help her out — in a way most women could only dream of.
“He … saved me. I was so busy working, so busy organizing everything else … the last thing I did was find a dress,” she said.
At first, she remembered the icon fussing that he didn’t have “enough time to do all the tulle and the lace that takes so many hours to hand-embroider.”
But he said yes, anyway, and hastened to reassure her: “He said, ‘Don’t worry, we will do something beautiful for you,’ and he absolutely did. It was the biggest gift … he designed the most beautiful wedding gown.”
Considering the pair had never met before, it was an unlikely, generous offer from a fashion powerhouse that eventually led to a decades-long friendship — because that’s the kind of person he was, Mellon said.
A star is born
Valentino put his stamp on the fashion industry when he founded his eponymous label in 1960.
Always intrigued by fashion and art, he enrolled in fashion sketching courses in Milan and Paris at the age of 17, back in the 1940s.
After winning a prestigious fashion design competition in the mid-1950s, the aspiring designer secured a job working with evening gown couturier Jean Dessès.
By 1959, Valentino took a stab at creating some of his own designs, one of them being a crimson, orange-hued strapless “Fiesta” cocktail dress — a signature color that eventually became one he famously included in every one of his collections.
For almost half a century, the fashion mogul has been known for dressing some of the world’s most famous A-listers — Princess Diana, Jackie Kennedy, Meryl Streep, Gwyneth Paltrow and Elizabeth Taylor, who was an early fan of Valentino as she wore one of his gowns to the 1960 “Spartacus” premiere, to name a few — in his glamorous and elegant designs.
“I don’t know of another brand that has been relevant consistently for 60 years. It is a massive achievement,” said Mellon.
But it was who Valentino was as a person that mattered most to those close to him.
A true friend
After walking into Valentino’s Rome office to meet and work with him on her wedding dress, Mellon quickly learned that behind the powerful name and persona was a loyal, kind and incredibly thoughtful individual — someone who quickly became like family to her.
“When you think of Valentino, you think of the beautiful dresses that make you look elegant and sophisticated but then you step into his world and into his life, he makes you feel included and welcome,” the entrepreneur explained.
Valentino was described as a person who loved to learn and find inspiration everywhere, especially from his fellow fashionistas.
“I was the next [fashion] generation. He was learning from me and I was learning from him,” Mellon said.
Throughout the years, Mellon was fortunate enough to have had Valentino present for many significant milestones in her life, including the moment she found out she was pregnant with her daughter, Minty, in 2001 while in St. Tropez on the fashion designer’s boat.
Or when she was awarded her Order of the British Empire (OBE) title, an honor given by the royal family for an extraordinary achievement.
“For him to be at the dinner celebrating my OBE with me was incredibly special because at that point in my life, my father had died, I don’t speak to my mother and I don’t have any other family. So for them [Valentino and his life and business partner, Giancarlo Giammetti], to be there, supporting me in that way felt very special,” she shared with The Post.
Valentino would often entertain at Château de Wideville, his lavish 17th-century home, situated outside Paris. One would assume a home of that magnitude would be rigid and formal — but according to Mellon, who attended many of these Valentino gatherings, it was quite the opposite, as the designer’s warm and inviting presence made the home feel intimate and cozy.
“He was gracious to all his guests. There was never a guest in the room who didn’t feel welcome. He made you feel like you belonged. And that is an unbelievably rare skill,” she added.
The Italian designer also enjoyed sharing a good laugh with friends. “He’d like to know what the latest gossip or scandal is. He was fun like that.”
“When you become friends with [them], they wrap their arms around you and they feel like family. You may not see them for a few years, but as soon as you see them again, you click right back,” Mellon said. “And to me, that is real friendship and loyalty.”
Loyal to the end
And Valentino’s loyalty didn’t just lie with his inner circle.
After a vibrant 45-year fashion career, in January 2008, Valentino passed the fashion baton when he officially stepped down from serving as the creative director at his fashion empire, almost 10 years after selling his company for $300 million. He took his final bow to a roaring applause at his haute couture Paris fashion show at the Rodin Museum.
But that didn’t stop him from continuing to show support for his namesake brand.
“To set the example to everyone in my industry, he still went to fashion shows after he sold the company. To be able to go and watch a show, that’s your brand and support the new creative director and have a relationship with them — it takes an incredible person to do that,” Mellon shared.
When asked how the renowned Italian fashion designer has inspired Mellon, she proudly answered, “He inspired me in how to live my life. I talk to my partner about how we want to live by the standards of our home. And he looks at me and he goes, ‘Is it Valentino?’ That’s our checkpoint.”
Valentino passed away peacefully at age 93 in his home in Rome on January 19, 2026, surrounded by his loved ones. His funeral, which Mellon will attend with her daughter, will be held on Friday in the Basilica di Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri in Rome’s Piazza della Repubblica.
The legendary designer will not only be remembered for his impact on the fashion industry but also for who he was on the inside.
“He’s been the gold standard of how to behave in life, in business and socially,” said Mellon.
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