V is for Valentino

There is nothing quite like the extravagance of haute couture. As Valentino: The Last Emperor explores the remarkable 45-year career of Valentino Garavani, it reminds us that fashion is all about fantasy, extravagance and dreams. It makes me wish I had the lifestyle to dress in evening gowns every day.
 
Aside from the dresses, there are little moments throughout this documentary that bring a smile to your face. I especially love it when lifelong partner and friend, Giancarlo Giammetti calls Valentino fat after Valentino calls his background set of sand dunes ridiculo, or when Valentino asks Giancarlo about a speech he just gave, and Giancarlo replies that he's too tan.

The camera mostly follows Giancarlo, but there are moments when you get a glimpse of the very private Valentino's personality, such as when he's speaking about Matteo Marzotto:

After so many decades, after so much work, after so much freedom, you can imagine me accepting the Marzotto telling me not to do this, not to do that? I would eat that man.

The documentary culminates with a 45 year celebration of the fashion legend at the Ara Pacis in Rome, a showcase that is of course, very dramatic and over the top. Appropriately so. The Last Emperor is a retrospective not only of a fashion icon but also of a dream, an art brought to life.