Valvo grew up in a traditional Spanish/Italian family in Westchester County, New York where early on he developed a passion for oil painting and made costumes for his sisters’ school projects.
Valvo’s father was an anesthesiologist and his mother a nurse, and Valvo envisioned a career as a plastic surgeon, volunteering his free time in the ER.
Eventually, he turned to a degree in Fine Arts at Manhattanville College. He enrolled in the Parsons The New School for Design. Valvo began his professional career as ready-to-wear designer for Nina Ricci in Paris, and later spent time at Christian Dior.
In 1989 he launched his own label, putting together a collection to show at the fall market in New York with only a few thousand dollars. His sportswear was a success among department stores, but his evening wear sparked interest in buyers at Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus, two stores he regularly sells at today.
Valvo’s designs have graced many notable and glamorous women such as HRH Princess Madeleine of Sweden, Queen Latifah, Beyoncé, Katie Couric, Leona Lewis, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Vanessa Williams, Kate Winslet, Eva Longoria, and Mary J. Blige, to name a few. His designs were also featured in Confessions of a Shopaholic movie.
Carmen has proven to be a dedicated scholar of his craft, carefully honing his skills to master the fine art of cutting and draping fabric to enhance the female physique so that every customer feels like a star on the red carpet when they walk into a room wearing one of his creations.
Valvo is involved with many charitable organizations, but has given most of his time to promoting awareness and encouraging the discussion of colorectal cancer, as he is a survivor himself.
He was diagnosed with colorectal cancer. He was unaware of his own family history relating to the disease. With no family history on record, he was not eligible for prescreening by insurance and would have normally had to wait until the age of 50 for his...