Valentino has formed a new cultural partnership and has been announced as the sponsor of the International Booker Prize 2024 ceremony.

The company said the new partnership is “designed to give the world’s best storytellers the broad cultural status they deserve”.

The Booker Prizes are the world’s top literary fiction prizes, synonymous with the Oscars or Grammys in the movie and music industries, even if the prize ceremonies don’t garner quite the same red carpet attention.

Linking up with Booker isn’t the first such move for Valentino as it has previously had a long association with the literary world. But it said this sponsorship “strengthens its commitment to fostering global arts and culture”. 

For many years, it has “affirmed its commitment to great writing by celebrating impactful texts and authors. It has re-envisioned the traditional means of fashion communication through campaigns that honour the authentic beauty of words, as well as launching other multidisciplinary initiatives that link fashion to literature”. 

And it has worked with plenty of authors nominated for the Booker Prizes, including Hanya Yanagihara, Leila Mottley, Elif Shafak and Mieko Kawakami.

The main prize event that it’s now sponsoring happens on 21 May. The livestream of the International Booker Prize ceremony will be hosted by YouTuber Jack Edwards, who has worked with Valentino for several years.

And we’re told that the fashion house’s “contribution to the cause of translated fiction will allow the Booker Prize Foundation to raise the profile of the prize”.

The prizes have celebrated and transformed the careers of leading international talent and each year the International Booker Prize introduces readers to “the best novels and short story collections from around the globe that have been translated into English and published in the UK and/or Ireland”.

Valentino’s support will also enable the donation of 500 sets of the prize shortlist to libraries across the UK via The Reading Agency.

That said, Crankstart, a charitable foundation, remains the core funder of the Booker Prizes.