“What do women want?” – Female reporter
“I know what women want, they want to be beautiful” – Mr. Valentino

When I started watching the film I thought this would be just other documentary a fashion “GOD”. I thought all I would see was the creation of a beautiful line for a fashion show and maybe get to see Mr. Valentino have a few Diva Tantrums. What I did not realize was that I would absolutely fall in love with Mr. Valentino and his wonderful partner in love, life and business Mr. Giancarlo Giammetti and their five fabulous Pugs. I saw this documentary as a love story with a twist of beautiful fashion. It was a surprisingly moving snapshot of the end of an era. I will admit that it made me shred a tear or two when watching Mr. Valentino’s 45 years of fashion being observed by the women and people he’s been dressing for years. To see the reaction of Karl Lagerfield when taken into the Room of Evening gowns helped me understand exactly what the name Valentino means and should mean to women everywhere.

This film was shot between June 2005 and July 2007 and over 250 hours of footage was captured showing Mr. Valentino as true jetsetter, he traveled from his Mansions, went skiing in Gstaad and spent warm days on yachts and still he was able to work on his fashions while Mr. Giancarlo and the Valentino Team planned a massive 3-day extravaganza that cost nearly $20 million, that would commemorate Valentino’s 45th year anniversary in fashion. All the while you get an intimate look at the relationship between Mr. Valentino and Giancarlo. They honestly reminded me of an old, yet absolutely fabulous, married couple from when they argued about where they first met to Giancarlo letting Valentino know he may have been a little “too tan” after one of his interviews. I totally agreed with Giancarlo, Valentino was hitting that Orange Burst tone, but that would literally be my only complaint of the entire 90-minute masterpiece. I believe that the Valentino Fashion House was able to last as long as it did because of the love in this partnership. Not just to each other but to the fashion. Valentino let the world know he just wanted to make the women of the world look beautiful but Mr. Giancarlo the man who handled all the day-to-day business helped Valentino make that dream a reality. I believe they both exposed themselves with a refreshing brutal honesty that comes with years of love and determination to make all of their relationships work. “To be with Valentino as a friend, as a lover, as and employee you need a lot of patience” Is one of the many lines that Mr. Giancarlo stated in one of his interviews and you definitely see the patience that Giancarlo has with Valentino specifically. From calming Valentino down from one of his few rants about the cameras following him to the frustration he showed when putting the finishing touches on the White Ruffled Evening Gown that I fell in love with. Giancarlo always seemed to know exactly what to say to Valentino and this is why I believe They seem to have found a perfect balance between business and personal as well as learned to mix both worlds to work for them. When Mr. Giancarlo stated that in the 45 years that they have been together they have only been apart from each other for maybe 2 months I was simply amazed by that fact but definitely not shocked you can see with the fluid movements of their relationships that Giancarlo is the Yin to Valentino’s Yang. I can only say that this movie inspired my heart to search for that kind of connection that seems like it will last a lifetime.

The conclusion of this movie sadden me because by the end I felt like I was leaving a friend. I felt as though Valentino and Giancarlo were kind enough to let me into their lives to witness genius in action and that they will definitely be a part of my heart and a part of my quest to find a love this divine whether it be with a man or with that lovely White Ruffled Evening gown I know that I am forever changed after experiencing this movie and only can wish that you will come away with the feelings I did.