By Derek Blasberg

What constitutes a casual weekday lunch for fashion executive Giancarlo Giammetti would qualify as an elaborate affair for anyone else: served by his butler at a table set with sterling-silver flatware and a starched white linen tablecloth on the terrace of his apartment overlooking Rome's Spanish Steps.

But for most of the past five decades, this is how Giammetti has lived, whether at this home or any of his three others—in New York's Upper East Side, London's Cadogan Square or in Paris's 7th arrondissement. Giammetti is the Roman-born business czar behind designer Valentino Garavani's 50-year tenure at his self-named fashion house, which became equally synonymous with red gowns and an opulent old-world lifestyle rarely seen anymore.

Read more

Source: http://online.wsj.com/