VIDEO: The trailer for Valentino: The Last Emperor
In 2008, Italian fashion designer Valentino Garavani — the man who kept Jackie Kennedy rolling in couture — stepped down from a spectacular 45-year career that had culminated in a wildly opulent retrospective exhibit in Rome.
Vanity Fair correspondent Matt Tyrnauer's documentary gives unprecedented access to the fashion mogul in his last two working years, capturing many delightful behind-the-scenes moments: Valentino ferrying his flotilla of wheezing pugs through an airplane; Valentino looking for reassurance from business partner (and former lover) Giancarlo Giammetti after a nerve-racking press conference; Valentino throwing a somehow-dignified diva fit before a show.
Although style hounds will revel in this intimate portrait (not to mention the money shots of kohl-eyed models flouncing across the runway), the less fashion-familiar may well spend the runtime itching for a little more context.
