Valentino, who died on Monday at 93, leaves a lasting legacy full of celebrities, glamour and, in his words, knowing what women want: “to be beautiful”.

The Italian fashion powerhouse has secured his dream of making a lasting impact, outliving Karl Lagerfeld and Yves Saint Laurent.

Valentino was known for his unique blend between the bold and colourful Italian fashion and the elegant French haute couture – the highest level of craftsmanship in fashion, with exceptional detail and strict professional dressmaking standards.

The blending of these styles to create the signature Valentino silhouette made his style distinctive. Valentino’s style was reserved, and over his career he built upon the haute couture skills he had developed, maintaining his signature style while he led his fashion house for five decades.

But he was certainly not without his own controversial views on beauty for women.

Becoming the designer

Born in Voghera, Italy, in 1932, Valentino Clemente Ludovico began his career early, knowing from a young age he would pursue fashion.

He drew from a young age and studied fashion drawing at Santa Marta Institute of Fashion Drawing in Milan before honing his technical design skills at École de la Chambre Syndicale de la Couture Parisienne, the fashion trade association, in Paris.

He started his fashion career at two prominent Parisian haute couture houses, first at Jean Dessès before moving to Guy Laroche.

He opened his own fashion house in Italy in 1959.

His early work had a heavy French influence with simple, clean designs and complex silhouettes and construction. His early work had blocked colour and more of a minimalist approach, before his Italian culture really came through later in his collections.

He achieved early success through his connections to the Italian film industry, including dressing Elizabeth Taylor fresh off her appearance in Cleopatra (1963).

Valentino joined the world stage on his first showing at the Pritti Palace in Florence in 1962.

His most notable collection during that era was in 1968 with The White Collection, a series of A-line dresses and classic suit jackets. The collection was striking: all in white, while Italy was all about colour.

He quickly grew in international popularity. He was beloved by European celebrities, and an elite group of women who were willing to spend the money – the dresses ran into the thousands of dollars.

In 1963, he travelled to the United States to attract Hollywood stars.

The Valentino woman

Valentino’s wish was to make women beautiful. He certainly attracted the A-list celebrities to do so. The Valentino woman was one who would hold themselves with confidence and a lady-like elegance.

Valentino wanted to see women attract attention with his classic silhouettes and balanced proportions. Valentino dressed women such as Jackie Kennedy, Audrey Hepburn, Julia Roberts, Gwyneth Paltrow and Anne Hathaway.

His aristocratic taste inherited ideas of beauty and old European style, rather than innovating with new trends. His signature style was formal designs that had the ability to quietly intimidate – including the insatiable Valentino red.

Red was a signature colour of his collections. The colour provided confidence and romance, while not distracting away from the beauty of the woman.

French influence

Being French-trained, Valentino was well acquainted with the rules of couture.

With this expertise, he was one of the first Italian designers to be successful in France as an outsider with the launch of his first Paris collection in 1975. This Paris collection showcased more relaxed silhouettes with many layers, playing towards the casual nature of fashion.

While his design base was in Rome, many of his collections were shown in Paris over the next four decades. His Italian culture mixed with the technicality of Parisian haute couture made Valentino the designer he was.

Throughout his career, his designs often maintained a classic silhouette bust, matched with a bold Italian colour or texture.

Unlike some designers today, Valentino’s collections didn’t change too dramatically each season. Instead, they continued to maintain the craftsmanship and high couture standards.

“Quintessentially beautiful” is often the description of Valentino’s work – however this devotion to high beauty standards has seen criticism of the industry. In 2007, Valentino defended the trend of very skinny women on runways, saying when “girls are skinny, the dresses are more attractive”.

Critics said his designs reinforce exclusion, gatekeeping fashion from those who don’t conform to traditional beauty standards.

The Valentino runways only recently have started to feature more average sized bodies and expand their definition of beauty.

The $300 million sale of Valentino

The Valentino fashion brand sold for US$300 million in 1998 to Holding di Partecipazioni Industriali, with Valentino still designing until his retirement in 2007.

Valentino sold to increase the size of his brand: he knew without the support of a larger corporation surviving alone would be impossible. Since Valentino’s retirement, the fashion house has continued under other creative directors.

Valentino will leave a lasting legacy as the Italian designer who managed to break through the noise of the French haute couture elite and make a name for himself.

The iconic Valentino red will forever be remembered for its glamour, and will live on with his legacy. A true Roman visionary with unmatched craftsmanship.

Jye Marshall, Lecturer, Fashion Design, School of Design and Architecture, Swinburne University of Technology

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Southeast Australia is enduring a record-breaking heatwave, with temperatures rising above 40ºC in many areas.

For vulnerable people, particularly older Australians, this heat is not only uncomfortable but dangerous. High temperatures can worsen existing health problems and in some cases even prove fatal.

So as the mercury climbs, it’s important to understand why some people are more at risk.

Here’s how to tell if someone is not coping with the heat – and how to stay safe.

Why is it harder for older people to keep cool?

Our bodies have a number of processes to regulate temperature.

First, the heart directs blood toward the skin, delivering heat from the body’s core to the surface.

Second, when we sweat and it evaporates off our skin, this allows excess body heat to escape into the air.

But as we age, these processes become less efficient. Older people’s blood flow and sweating are reduced compared to younger people. This means their bodies store more heat for longer.

Why this is dangerous

Often, the real danger isn’t simply overheating – it’s the strain heat puts on the cardiovascular system (the heart, blood and blood vessels) trying to serve two masters.

During hot weather, the heart works significantly harder. It diverts blood to the skin to shed excess heat, while still trying to satisfy the oxygen demands of other vital organs.

This helps explain why, during heatwaves, hospitals are not overrun with older people suffering from heatstroke. Instead, the overwhelming surge in emergency department admissions is mostly due to underlying health conditions that get much worse, such as diabetes and heart, lung or kidney diseases.

Older adults are more likely to have at least one chronic condition, and in heatwaves that last for days without a break these conditions can rapidly worsen.

The more chronic conditions someone has, the more likely they are to be hospitalised during hot weather.

Common medications can also interfere with the body’s cooling mechanisms.

Diuretics increase the risk of dehydration, while beta-blockers and some antidepressants can impair sweating, as can anticholinergic drugs (found in some medications for bladder problems, allergies and Parkinson’s disease).

Social factors can also make things worse

While the number of air conditioners has soared in Australia in the past two decades, rising energy costs mean many older adults may be reluctant to run their units.

Others may live alone or be less mobile. Conditions which affect thinking and memory, such as dementia, can also make it difficult for someone to assess their own risk and remember to drink fluids.

What to look for

Keep an eye out for signs you or your loved ones are not coping with the heat.

For older adults, these can be subtle. Early signs of heat stress include:

• being unusually tired or lethargic
• losing balance
• feeling confused
• feeling short of breath
• urinating less or dark urine (this can indicate dehydration and kidney strain).

In those with chronic conditions, watch for any worsening of usual symptoms.

Heat exhaustion is more serious, and requires fluids and rest in a cool environment. Signs of heat exhaustion include very heavy sweating, nausea, headache and muscle cramps.

Heat stroke has similar symptoms but is a medical emergency – it requires immediate medical attention.

Heat stroke is also characterised by hot and dry skin as the body’s heat regulation system fails.

This happens when the body’s core temperature exceeds 40ºC, and can lead to loss of consciousness and organ failure.

How to stay safe

Beyond the usual advice to stay hydrated, seek shade and reduce physical activity, there are some simple strategies that can also help the impact of extreme heat for older adults.

Air conditioning remains the most effective defence against the heat. If you don’t have air conditioning at home, consider going somewhere such as a shopping centre or library during the hottest part of the day.

If you do have an air conditioner, setting it to 26–27ºC and using a pedestal fan can result in a 76% reduction in electricity consumption and improves comfort.

For those without air conditioning, fans alone can help. Wetting the skin or clothing in combination with a fan boosts evaporative cooling without requiring your body to produce more sweat.

However, for older adults (who sweat less) the effectiveness of fans begins to diminish between 33 and 37ºC. Above 37ºC, fans may actually make the body hotter faster than sweating can compensate for.

So for older adults it’s important to keep the skin moist or find other ways to cool down if using a fan when temperature is above 37ºC.

Even something as simple as immersing your hands and forearms in cool tap water – for ten minutes every half hour – has been shown to meaningfully lower body temperatures and stress on the heart.

The bottom line

Heat doesn’t discriminate, but its consequences do. In a heatwave, look out for older family members and neighbours.

If you or someone you know has symptoms of heat stroke such as slurred speech, confusion, fainting, or hot, dry skin, call 000 immediately.

Aaron Bach, Researcher and Lecturer in Exercise Science, Griffith University and Fergus O'Connor, Research Fellow in Exercise Science, Griffith University

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.