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Valentino Garavani Dies at 93: Remembering the Italian Fashion Legend

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Photo: Shutterstock

Valentino Garavani, the Italian designer whose name was synonymous with couture discipline and colour mastery, has died at the age of 93. He passed away in Rome on January 19, 2026, according to an official statement released by the Valentino Garavani & Giancarlo Giammetti Foundation.

Born Valentino Clemente Ludovico Garavani in Voghera in 1932, he began his career at a time when elegance was still governed by structured tailoring and formal codes. Trained in Milan and Paris, Valentino returned to Italy in the late 1950s to establish his fashion house in Rome, a city whose grandeur and history would remain central to his design approach.

Photo: Shutterstock

By the 1960s, Valentino had had gained international clients, dressing aristocrats, actresses, and first ladies with a carefulness followed strict couture conventions. His work was featured sharp tailoring. Few designers have so successfully balanced excess with discipline, romance with order.

One of his defining signature is the color that became inseparable from his name a distinctive shade of red that was associated with formal evening wear and couture presentation rather than provocation. It was worn by Elizabeth Taylor, Audrey Hepburn, Jackie Kennedy, Sophia Loren, and later worn by contemporary actresses and public figures extending his cultural relevance across decades of cultural memory.

Photo: Shutterstock

His personal and professional partnership with Giancarlo Giammetti, who joined the house in 1960, shaped the business and public image of the house. Together, they built Valentino into one of Italy’s leading Italian couture houses navigating the transition from couture salon to global fashion house while maintaining its couture focus.

Valentino stepped away from active design in 2008, presenting his final collection with a final haute couture collection in Paris that reflected his long-standing emphasis to form and finish. While the house would go on under new creative leadership, his influence remained embedded in its shapes and couture techniques.

Tributes followed from across the fashion industry, film, and global culture, acknowledging not only his aesthetic contributions but his insistence on standards in an increasingly fast-paced industry. Within the fashion industry Valentino represented a belief in fashion as a discipline one shaped by patience, skill, and an understanding of beauty as something constructed, not improvised.

Photo: Centromedicoloira

He is survived by his partner Giancarlo Giammetti. Funeral arrangements will take place in Rome, with plans for a public viewing to be announced. With his passing, fashion loses one of its last true couturiers a designer whose work did not chase relevance, yet never lost it.

 

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Fashion

Nqobile Khwezi Reveals a Little in Burgundy Outside the Louvre

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Photo: Instagram

Nqobile Khwezi was photographed outside the Louvre Museum in a recent Instagram post. The photo shows Khwezi in a burgundy ensemble. The post, simply captioned “Candid outside the Louvre,” The image features her wearing a burgundy blazer.

Nqobile Khwezi:Instagram

The outfit included an oversized burgundy blazer from BABY BOO, worn without pants, with the blazer partially unbuttoned to reveal a black lace bra. She accessorized with reflective burgundy glasses with a dark frame, partially obscured by her long hair. Her accessories included a Dolce & Gabbana burgundy bag and a neck chain featuring a burgundy pendant. She completed the look with burgundy slingback pointed heels, and her makeup and nails were kept in nude tones.

Read Also: The Inward Gaze: Pearl Thusi as Her Own Muse

Known as a brand strategist, Khwezi has built a reputation for a distinct fashion presence. Her Instagram, followed by a large audience, showcases curated outfits ranging from casual streetwear to sophisticated tailoring.

Nqobile Khwezi:Instagram

Social media is a powerful platform for fashion personalities to control their own narratives. Unlike traditional editorial magazines, images like this allow creators to present fashion through personal experiences.

Nqobile Khwezi:Instagram

Khwezi’s appearance outside the Louvre shows her participation in international fashion spaces and social media visibility. By being photographed in this historic location, she presents African fashion in a global context. Moments like this contribute to her wider recognition as a fashion influencer.

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The Inward Gaze: Pearl Thusi as Her Own Muse

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Pearl Thusi - Instagram

Shot in black and white, Pearl Thusi sits on a bed, dressed in lace lingerie with a loose shirt slipping off her shoulders. Camera angle and stillness keep the focus on her pose and face.
She has done similar shoots before. Across past magazine features and editorial shoots, she has used images that mix confidence with softer presentation. The key difference here is the minimal approach. There is no elaborate set design or heavy accessorising drawing focus away from her. The scene feels considered, minimal, leaving the focus on her pose.

Pearl Thusi – Instagram

Her pose drives the image. Leaning back, head tilted, eyes closed, she suggests a private moment, even though it is clearly staged. It appears less staged and more controlled in how she presents herself. The camera is present, but it does not take focus away from her. Instead, she controls how she is presented.
This approach matches how she has been positioned in several lifestyle and fashion spreads over the years. Instead of using dramatic elements, these features often focus on how she presents herself. This image follows that pattern. It suggests a subject who is aware of the camera without adjusting to please it.

Pearl Thusi – Instagram

The black-and-white image removes colour and highlights contrast and texture. The lace, the soft bedding, and the smooth lighting add visual detail without making the image busy.
The image shows control. It remains understated and is not overly styled, and it does not rely on heavy styling. It keeps attention through its simplicity.

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Wild West! Thabsie Makes Cowgirl Style Look So Good

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Thabsile Zikhali - Instagram

Thabsile Zikhali is embracing a Western-inspired look in a recent photoshoot shared online. The singer steps away from her usual performance styling to appear in an outfit built around cowgirl fashion elements.

The shoot places Thabsie in front of a worn building. The location contrasts with the polished styling, highlighting the intricacies of the outfit.

Thabsile Zikhali – Instagram

A strapless brown dress with a corset-style bodice forms the main piece of the outfit. The top features crisscross lacing across the front, while the long skirt falls to the ground with a high slit on one side. The slit reveals a pair of cow-print boots that bring a clear Western influence to the outfit.

Thabsie completes the look with a wide-brimmed brown cowboy hat. Around her waist is a silver chain belt with layered links worn over the dress. She also wears stacked silver necklaces and long drop earrings that add shine to the look.

The photos show the singer posing in the open parking area outside the building, with the neutral tones of the setting contrasting with the deep brown of the dress and the patterned boots.

Thabsile Zikhali – Instagram

The Western theme has appeared frequently in fashion shoots and celebrity styling in recent years, with cowboy hats, statement belts and boots often reinterpreted in modern outfits. In this shoot, those elements appear through the hat, jewellery and the cow-print boots paired with the fitted dress.

The images offer a different style direction for the singer, presenting her in a fashion theme that blends classic Western pieces with a modern cut.

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