Valentino Exhibition at Somerset House

STYLE | CR Fashion Book

How VERY VALENTINO, the major exhibition that celebrates the life and work of Valentino showcasing over 130 exquisite haute couture designs.

Celebrating the 50th anniversary of legendary couturier Valentino Garavani is no easy task, but the new Valentino: Master of Couture exhibition at London’s Somerset House succeeds in that challenge. The retrospective (designed by Patrick Kinmonth and Antonio Monfreda, who were behind the Ara Pacis Museum exhibition in Rome for Valentino’s 45th anniversary), opening to the public today, features over 130 hand-crafted couture, runway, and red carpet pieces, many of which have never seen outside the Valentino atelier. Some of the gowns, however, have become a part of history thanks to the designer’s host of adoring, famous clients. Plenty of those fans, including Princess Marie-Chantal of Greece, Elizabeth Hurley, and Victoria Beckham, were on hand last night at the Italian Embassy in London to toast Valentino’s exhibition opening. On show, there’s that unforgettable black velvet evening gown Julia Roberts wore to the Academy Awards in 2001, Jackie Onassis’ 1968 wedding dress, and Princess Marie-Chantal’s pearl-encrusted wedding gown from 1995 (which took 25 seamstresses, 12 varieties of lace, and four months to make).

“Each of these designs have a beautiful story,” says Valentino. “The atelier crafted each so diligently by hand, taking hours, sometimes days to complete. The details are incredibly intricate, through outside the runway shows and events, the dresses have rarely been seen, so to be able to showcase these designs at Somerset House, where they can be seen in great detail by the public, is very unique.”

Though the clothes, exhibited along a 200-foot catwalk, are the centrepiece, Valentino’s personal items, including rare snapshots, fashion show invites from throughout the years, and beautiful fabric swatches of his designs help to tell the whole story. One of the show’s high points is a series of short films by Antonio Monfreda and Giorgio Horn, showcasing Valentino’s team (“Le Ragazze di Valentino”) hard at work using the same couture cutting techniques he learned in school.