ROME (AP) — Global fashion celebrities bid farewell to iconic designer Valentino Friday morning at a funeral in Rome’s central Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli dei Martiri.

Following two days of public viewings on Wednesday and Thursday at the Valentino Foundation headquarters in the Italian capital, the funeral was the final tribute to the internationally acclaimed designer.

The funeral was attended by top fashion figures, including designers Tom Ford and Donatella Versace, as well as longtime Vogue magazine actress Anna Wintour and Hollywood stars such as Anne Hathaway.

Fans and admirers gathered outside the church, some wearing red or carrying red accessories as a final homage to the designer’s signature hue.

Valentino Garavani, who died Monday at his Rome mansion at the age of 93, was the beloved designer of generations of royals, first ladies and celebrities, including Jackie Kennedy Onassis, Queen Rania of Jordan and Julia Roberts, who vowed to always make them look and feel their best.

Hundreds of people had already paid their respects to the “last emperor” of Italian fashion at the public viewing. Valentino always had an atelier in Rome and presented his collections mainly in Paris.

His gorgeous dresses have graced countless Academy Awards, most notably in 2001, when Roberts won the Best Actress award wearing a vintage black and white column. Cate Blanchett also wore a butter yellow silk one-shoulder Valentino when she won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar in 2005.

“I would like to thank Valentino for teaching me beauty,” Giancarlo Giametti, his longtime partner both in public and private life, said in a memorial speech, his voice rising with emotion.

“It was a beauty that followed us throughout our lives. We met as children, dreamed of the same things and achieved many of them. Our journey will always continue,” he added.