‘The Sheikh Of Chic' Whose Luxurious Clothes Appealed To The World's Richest Women

On his travels he was accompanied by a personal chef who, should his pasta-making skills need brushing up, would be sent for a month's re-education at Harry's Bar in Venice.

Haute couture is seldom profitable on its own, and without Giammetti's commercial brain Valentino might well have struggled financially. As he once put it: "There are only three things I can do – make a dress, decorate a house, and entertain people."