On September 7, 2011, Valentino will be this year’s honoree of the Couture Council Award for artistry of fashion at a luncheon gala at Avery Fisher Hall in NYC, says WWD.com. Valerie Steele, the director of the Museum at FIT, said of the designer to WWD.com, “You can see his incredible dedication to the technique of couture and his exquisite, perfect taste combined with an almost fanatical perfectionism.”
When asked about the award over a phone interview, Valentino said, “It’s such a tremendous honor to receive it, especially as it is related to couture, which everybody knows has always been my passion and the center of my work. This is very important.”
Previous honorees have been Karl Lagerfeld, Dries Van Noten, Giorgio Armani, Ralph Rucci, Alber Elbaz, and Isabel Toledo.