Review - Valentino: Master of Couture at Somerset House
Valentino: Master of Couture at Somerset House explores the career of one of the world’s most prolific (and smoothest) Italian fashion designers with a vast display of his couture from the past fifty years.This exhibition is full-on excess glamour with a nod to the craft that went behind it. The first room is a walk-in biography of Valentino Garavani (famously known by only his first name just like Cher) with timelines highlighting key points in his career and displays of candid photographs, sketches, show invitations, press cuttings and correspondence from the likes of royalty, film stars, fashion editors and fellow designers. It resembles shoeboxes and scrapbooks of memoirs tipped out and meticulously categorised. I did become a little weary of the constant celebrity name-dropping - is it too vulgar? - but it does emphasise the incredible influence Valentino had in the world of high fashion. Jackie Kennedy in a one shoulder Valentino gown during her visit to Cambodia in 19