The name Valentino has been synonymous with high fashion for almost fifty years. Based in Rome, Valentino is the only couture house recognized by the French government outside of Paris. His exquisite designs are coveted and worn by young Hollywood and high society alike the world over. On the occasion of his last couture collection, presented in Paris in the spring of 2008, this landmark book celebrates 45 years of Valentino's remarkable career. Published in association with a prestigious exhibition at the Museé des Arts Decoratifs's famed costume department in Paris, this volume focuses on Valentino's haute couture creations. Valentino: Couture will highlight the most important and iconic creations of his half-century in fashion through recurring themes in Valentino's work-variations on the ideas of volume, line, and texture as well as motifs such as geometry, pleats, and flowers-through sketches, fabric samples, brand new photography, and commentary on the dresses by Valentino himself. "Valentino On Valentino," a chapter of first-person accounts of the designs of these iconic dresses, along with Valentino's commentary on evolving a mega-brand in fashion, will make this publication unique in the study of Valentino as a cultural and artistic icon. An in-depth critical survey of Valentino's contribution to French haute couture as well as his role as the king of Italian fashion by the exhibition's curator, Pamela Golbin, will ensure that this book is the definitive study on Valentino for years to come.