Maison Valentino pays homage to its founder Valentino Garavani with its largest exhibition to date and its first presentation in the Middle East.
“ROME: THIS IS WHERE WE ALL BELONG, AND THIS IS WHERE EVERYTHING STARTS” Pierpaolo Piccioli
Coinciding with Valentino Garavani’s 90th birthday and the unveiling of the Valentino Autumn/Winter 2022 Haute Couture collection in the heart of Rome, the exhibition is conceived as a vast panoramic view of the history of the Maison, embedded in scenography evoking the Eternal City, which has been Valentino’s home since its foundation in 1959.
Featuring over 200 Valentino Haute Couture pieces and pret-à-porter outfits — presented on mannequins by La Rosa —accompanied by accessories and fashion objects displayed in an immersive scenography, the exhibition weaves a richly textured image of the city of Rome inlaid with private memories and precious discoveries from the Maison’s six decades-long history, including rarely seen ensembles designed for the likes of Elizabeth Taylor, Jacqueline Kennedy and, more recently, Zendaya, along with stunning creations and virtuosic examples of Valentino’s legendary cult of excellence.
Autumn/Winter 2022 Haute Couture collection in the heart of Rome, the exhibition is conceived as a vast panoramic view of the history of the Maison, embedded in scenography evoking the Eternal City, which has been Valentino’s home since its foundation in 1959. “Forever Valentino” builds a dream-like image of the city of Rome, guiding viewers in and out of palazzos, while squares, and courtyards, simultaneously allowing exclusive access to secluded, intimate such as the celebrated spaces Valentino Ateliers, the storied archives of the Maison, and the fitting salons in the fabled headquarters of Piazza Mignanelli.
The exhibition depicts an instant city constructed as a collage of environments and experiences in which Valentino’s creations are displayed in dialogue with many of the sources of inspiration that have stirred up the creativity of both the founder Valentino Garavani and his successor Pierpaolo Piccioli.
Through the juxtapositions of different atmospheres and narratives, the exhibition composes an emotional dramaturgy inspired by the capriccio, an 18th century art form that combined disparate views of cities and architectures, re-imagining them as fantastical landscapes of the mind. Conceived by geniuses of the Baroque such as Giovanni Antonio Canaletto and Giovanni Battista Piranesi, the art of the capriccio turned marvellous Italian vistas into enchanted mirages, creating many of the icons and myths, which still inform the perception of Italy both locally and internationally. Fashion itself is, of course, composed of capriccios – of fantasies, inspirations made material, art, music, culture translated to cloth.
