Somerset House to host 'Valentino: Master of Couture' show

Featuring dresses from the couture catwalk and red carpet, as well as designs commissioned by private clients, this exhibition brings together a comprehensive collection of couture, much of which has never been seen outside the Valentino atelier. The exhibition will give visitors a rare glimpse behind the closed doors of Valentino’s world, allowing them to experience the thrill of walking the runway and reveal Valentino’s craftsmanship.

“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, though 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.”

Known for his long-standing relationships with the world’s most glamorous women, Valentino has designed for princesses, first ladies and Hollywood icons. As a result, exhibition highlights will include the vintage dress worn by Julia Roberts when she won an Academy Award in 2001, Jackie Onassis’s wedding dress from Valentino’s 1968 White Collection and Princess Marie-Chantal of Greece’s pearl-encrusted ivory silk wedding gown, which the New York socialite wore to marry Crown Prince Pavlos of Greece in 1995.

The exhibition design for Valentino: Master of Couture has been created specially for Somerset House by internationally renowned design team Kinmonth Monfreda, long time collaborators of Valentino, and realised in collaboration with Valentino and Giancarlo Giammetti. The exhibition has been curated by Alistair O’Neill for Somerset House with Patrick Kinmonth and Antonio Monfreda.

The exhibition promises to be a unique experience for each visitor and will be divided as follows:

Valentino

The first room delves into the unique world of Valentino featuring previously unseen personal photographs, couture invitations and images of Valentino at work and play from his personal archive in Wideville, France.