Born in Naples, a city of artists and antique traditions, Giovanni personifies all the qualities, this sun-lit city can endow: inspiration, creativity, a taste for refinement. Son and grandson of famous designers, Giovanni spends his childhood amongst skilful artisans. He develops a passion for art and its history, and enrols in the Academy of Fine Arts, specialising in Costume and Theatre Design. Inevitably, Giovanni becomes the indisputable successor to a tradition of design, which began at the beginning of the last century.
Upon graduating, Giovanni takes his place along side his father Mario, with whom he works for twelve years in a professional climate bursting with ideas and creativity. This fervent environment is enriched by the contribution of designers Giorgio Armani, Gianni Versace, Karl Lagerfeld and Claude Montana, who partecipate in the creation of some of the company's fashion collections. Giovanni gains solid and fundamental experience in the world of Italian fashion and in time becomes the sole designer of the brand.
In 1991, after the death of Mario Valentino, Giovanni decides to create a fashion line of his own combining unedited design with the highest level of quality and workmanship. Together with his wife Annabella, he develops the "GIOVANNI VALENTINO BUSINESS GROUP" which soon operates extensively on an international level. A great success based on an unprecedented concept: the unison of 'past' and 'present' to attain a style that is radical and exclusive, that embraces art and tradition and at the same time projects us into the future.