Two Months Late, Valentino Takes Final Bow

Right to the end, the veteran Italian designer Valentino adhered to the first commandment of fashion: never, ever be punctual - finally announcing his retirement yesterday, two months after the fashion world had expected it.

For nearly 50 years, Valentino Garavani was the favoured designer of the global best-dressed list. He dressed Jackie Onassis on her wedding day, Princess Diana in her most glamorous post-Charles era, and Cate Blanchett and Julia Roberts on their Oscar nights.

In July, Valentino, 75, invited 1,000 of his closest friends to Rome for a two-day celebration of his work to mark 45 years as a designer. Most in the fashion world assumed the real purpose of the event was to create a suitably grand stage on which Valentino could take a final bow. But Valentino kept his audience waiting until yesterday, when he said it was "the perfect moment to say adieu to the world of fashion".

"As the English say, I would like to leave the party when it is still full," he said. He will design two more collections, one to be shown in Paris next month and a final one to be staged in January

Yesterday's statement also suggested that Valentino wishes to pass his studio to his existing team. "I realize the house that carries my name will go through some changes but I wish to think that the [existing] team of designers ... will make me proud of Valentino's products," he said.