A Wrap For Valentino

The rich and famous were in the front row Wednesday, Jan. 23, 2008, when the 75-year-old fashion designer Valentino showed the last collection in his 45-year career at the Rodin Museum at the close of the Paris spring-summer haute couture shows. The show ended with a parade of models wearing his signature Valentino red.

A model wears a creation by Italian fashion designer Valentino for his Haute Couture Spring-Summer 2008 collection presented in Paris on Jan. 23, 2008. Celebrities, socialites and fashion editors were there to bid adieu to the king of the red carpet, who is stepping down after 45 years.

Hollywood stars, including Uma Thurman, seen here, and Lucy Liu joined supermodels Claudia Schiffer and Eva Herzigova at a tent in the Rodin Museum to pay truibute to the man who dressed everyone from Jackie Kennedy Onassis to Julia Roberts in his trademark scarlet gowns and tasteful couture.

A model wears a creation by Italian fashion designer Valentino for his Haute Couture Spring-Summer 2008 collection presented in Paris on Jan. 23, 2008. "You really can't mention the name Valentino without immediately thinking of glamour," said Glenda Bailey, editor-in-chief of Harper's Bazaar magazine.

A model wears a creation by Italian fashion designer Valentino for his Haute Couture Spring-Summer 2008 collection presented in Paris Wednesday, Jan. 23, 2008. Valentino ended with a flourish, showing some 75 outfits, almost twice the amount of a normal show.

A model wears a hat by Italian fashion designer Valentino for his Haute Couture Spring-Summer 2008 collection presented in Paris Wednesday, Jan. 23, 2008. He celebrated his label's 45th anniversary in July with three days of parties in Rome, prompting speculation that he was ready to retire following the purchase of Valentino Fashion Group by British-based private equity fund Permira for $3.8 billion.

Here's the rest of that outfit, created by Italian fashion designer Valentino for his Haute Couture Spring-Summer 2008 collection presented in Paris Wednesday, Jan. 23, 2008.

A model wears a backless creation by Italian fashion designer Valentino for his Haute Couture Spring-Summer 2008 collection presented in Paris Wednesday, Jan. 23, 2008. Valentino and his longtime business partner Giancarlo Giammetti announced in September their decision to step down. Alessandra Facchinetti, formerly at Gucci, is to take over design duties at the label.

A model wears a creation by Italian fashion designer Valentino for his Haute Couture Spring-Summer 2008 collection presented in Paris Wednesday, Jan. 23, 2008.

A model wears a creation by Italian fashion designer Valentino for his Haute Couture Spring-Summer 2008 collection presented in Paris Wednesday, Jan. 23, 2008.

A model wears a creation by Italian fashion designer Valentino for his Haute Couture Spring-Summer 2008 collection presented in Paris Wednesday, Jan. 23, 2008. Valentino, who had a cameo in the 2006 movie "The Devil Wears Prada,"will hit the big screen again in "Valentino: The Last Emperor," a documentary by Vanity Fair special correspondent Matt Tyrnauer.

A model wears a creation by Italian fashion designer Valentino for his Haute Couture Spring-Summer 2008 collection presented in Paris Wednesday, Jan. 23, 2008. Valentino shares the lifestyle of his jet-set patrons; he owns a chateau near Paris, a 152-foot yacht and an art collection that includes works by Picasso and Miro.

A model wears a creation by Italian fashion designer Valentino for his Haute Couture Spring-Summer 2008 collection presented in Paris Wednesday, Jan. 23, 2008. Valentino has strong links with France, where he learned his trade, and is being made an honorary citizen of Paris in a ceremony Thursday.

A group of models shows off the evening gowns draped, shirred and flounced in liquid silk and featherlight organdy, that have made Valentino king of the red carpet.

A model wears a creation by Italian fashion designer Valentino for his Haute Couture Spring-Summer 2008 collection presented in Paris Wednesday, Jan. 23, 2008. The designer plans a fashion retrospective in June at the Musee des Arts Decoratifs in Paris.

A model wears a creation by Italian fashion designer Valentino for his Haute Couture Spring-Summer 2008 collection presented in Paris Wednesday, Jan. 23, 2008.

Perpetually tanned and always impeccably dressed, Valentino waves to the audience after the presentation of his Haute Couture Spring-Summer 2008 collection, in Paris Wednesday, Jan. 23, 2008. He got a standing ovation at the close of the show.