Fortuna Valentino comes from a renowned family tradition, which is remembered in her collections. In fact, as long ago as the 1928’s her grandfather Vincenzo was creating special shoes for prestigious international clientele. Josephine Baker, for example, traveled from Paris to Naples to buy the shoes which only Vincenzo could make for her and which she used both on and off stage.
The family design tradition continued with Fortuna’s father, the famous Mario Valentino. Mario was a great designer who created accessories for the Alta Moda and Haute Couture. He gradually expanded his collections into the pret-a-porter field. These collections gained a high level of recognition with American Fashion Journalists and world-renowned personalities such as, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Ava Gardner, Sophia Loren, and Princess Caroline of Monaco for the innovative materials he employed, the quality of his craftsmanship and the caliber of his designs in clothing collections.
Fortuna Valentino has worked in the family business since 1980, designing the shoe, accessory, and ready-to-wear collections. During this period, in addition to the experience of apprenticing directly with her father, Mario she had the opportunity to work with other world famous designers such as Giorgio Armani, Gianni Versace, Claude Montana, and Karl Lagerfeld on shoe collections, accessories, and ready-to-wear. This experience greatly expanded Fortuna’s skills and knowledge of design, which led directly to her decision to start her own company.
Matured within the family tradition, FORTUNA VALENTINO decided, in 1994, to start her own collection, which she signs with her already famous “FV” logo. Simultaneously, and with confidence she acquired through years of successful designing, Fortuna opened her boutique on the world-famous Via Della Spiga in Milan. The boutique reflects the design direction of FORTUNA VALENTINO and has already been recognized in the architectural books and magazines as an important addition to this famous street. Subsequently, in 1998, FORTUNA VALENTINO has opened a boutique in New York, in fashionable Soho, on West Broadway. She has also opened two stores in Japan, one in trendy Omotesando area of Tokyo and one in Osaka. Her line was highly appreciated by the likes of May J. Blige, Mariah Carey, Lil’ Kim, Britney Spears, Eve, Julia Roberts, Halle Berry and Ivana Trump and other celebrities.
The FORTUNA VALENTINO collection, based on manmade materials and leather, includes both prêt-a-porter and accessories: shoes, handbags, gloves, scarves, hats and fashion jewelry. The major characteristic of the FORTUNA VALENTINO collection brings together, in harmony, the design and materials, which mirror Fortuna’s love of both fashion and art, with the ancient Italian skills of manufacturing, which Fortuna has mastered in her family business.
