German Valdivia
German Valdivia is an artist born in Cuba who grew up in New York City.
1980s
German served as popular makeup artist for roster of entertainers including Michael Jackson, Prince, Bon Jovi, Sheila E., Robin Wright, Howie Mandell, Roxana Arquette, Ted Danson, Arnold Schwarzenegger and others.
1990s
German co-founds luxury brand JonValdi, opening a retail location on Melrose in Los Angeles. The brand's menswear becomes popular with entertainers including Tom Cruise, Will Smith, Nicholas Cage, David Duchovny, Patrick Dempsey, Richard Gere, Antonio Banderas, Kevin Bacon, Prince, LL Cool J, Keanu Reeves, Sir Ian McKellan and more. Womenswear eventually launches and also becomes popular with entertainers such as Halle Berry, Charlize Thereon, Vanessa Williams, Cameron Diaz, Neve Campbell, Leah Remini, Lisa Kudrow and others.
The brand collaborates with televisions shows such as In Loving Color and Fresh Prince of Bel Air. Several design collaborations were also featured in films such as Titanic, Showgirls, Face Off and Magnolia.
German leaves Los Angeles and returns to New York City in 1998 to support his sister battling breast cancer. German spearheads a collaboration with Bergdorf Goodman with a Modern American Couture design collection.
As co-founder of JonValdi, German is inducated to the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) in 1999.
2000s
German officially opens New York location for the brand, presenting collections during the 2001 Spring New York Fashion Week and 2002 Fall New York Fashion Week.
Wholesale to upscale boutiques and select luxury department stores increases throughout the United States, gaining presence in Bergdorf Goodman, Barneys New York, Neiman Marcus, Nordstroms, Fred Segal, Stanley Korshak, Ruth Shaw, Tootsies, Wilkes Bashford amongst others.
The New York location blossoms into one of New York City's preeminent haute couture houses, providing designer services to a global clientele.
2010s
German assumes creative control of the brand in the spring of 2010 and continues to cater to a global private client. German's designs are seen in publications such as the New York Times, Style.com, Bloomberg News, Boston Magazine, New York Social Diary, and Bespoke Magazine for the St. Regis. German collaborates with television shows such as The Real Housewives of New York City on the Bravo network and feature films such as Think Like a Man.
German launches the brand's first e-commerce platform in 2011. In addition to mens and womenswear, German begins offering luxury lifestyle accents such as decorative pillows, antiques and collectibles with an Art Deco and Mid-Century Modern aesthetic. The brand's e-commerce platform begins to flourish, increasing direct-to-consumer sales while limiting reliance on traditional brick and mortar.
2020s
With a conscious move away from the over consumption of the fashion industry, German shifts his focus to producing haute couture and limited edition speciality items produced in New York City.
German begins design initiative to decrease non-biodegradable components in clothing designs, focusing on the primary use of natural silk and fabrics. The brand removes plastic packaging and partners with One Tree Planted.
With the global pandemic of 2020, the brand continues it's direct-to-consumer approach and begins offering a fully digitized haute couture experience with specialty in-person service offerings for select clients.