The Emperor's Old Clothes - Celebrating 50 Years of Valentino

From Audrey Hepburn to Julia Roberts and Jackie Onassis to Anne Hathaway, Valentino has been dressing the world's most beautiful women for half a Century.

In celebration of fifty years of high fashion, Somerset House is currently staging a major Valentino retrospective showcasing over 130 Valentino Couture gowns. 

We've been thoroughly overexcited about the exhibition for months (we first posted about it back in October), but it wasn't until I was back in London for Christmas that I finally got the chance to spend the day in Valentino Red Couture heaven...

With its towering tree and outdoor ice-rink, Somerset House is the picture perfect Winter Wonderland at Christmas, but this year I skipped the skating and made a beeline for the Exhibition entrance where a curtain of red chiffon hinted at the fashion amazingness waiting just inside.

The Exhibition is divided into three sections. You start with a collection of photographs, letters, press cuttings and sketches giving a peep into the life of one of fashion's most feted couturiers. Then you wind up a staircase to the next section, a reverse catwalk, where the visitor walks down the runway and either side the audience sits, a cast of mannequins dressed in Valentino Couture.

This section of the exhibition was the absolute highlight for me, the intricate detail and beautiful workmanship of each piece is breathtaking; I could have spent hours looking at every dress.

In amongst the gowns are a few celebrities including the Julia Roberts Oscars dress, a couple of Audrey Hepburn dresses and Jackie Kennedy Onassis' wedding dress...

The third and final part of the exhibition takes you behind the scenes of the Valentino atelier through a series of videos showing the team of les petites mains who sew each stitch of each gown by hand. 

I absolutely adored the exhibition and urge anyone who loves fashion and beautiful dresses to put aside an afternoon to spend a few very happy hours in Valentino world. The exhibition runs until 3 March so there's still plenty of time to make sure that you catch it. 

And even if you can't make the exhibition, if you haven't seen the 2008 Valentino documentary, Valentino: The Last Emperor, download it immediately - 96 minutes of pugs, diva strops and snide digs about being too tanned...Pure fashion bliss!

Fashion on Film: Fab Fashion Photography Exhibitions

When you were little was there anything more exciting than a school trip?

Coach journeys and lots of messing about with your friends somewhere with caged wild animals or random paintings (that looked like the least artistic child in your class knocked them up). One whole day with no assembly, no times tables, no spelling tests and no mental arithmetic. And the absolute highlight of the trip? Spending your 50p in the gift shop (the beginning of our shopping addictions can clearly be traced back to buying pencils and postcards at the Science Museum in the eighties...)

These days we generally don't get to hit up those cultural hot spots as much as we should. Somehow the lure of Topshop and cocktails are a little stronger than museums and gift shops when our weekends roll around. But this month we're dusting off our satchels and polishing our Prefects' badges - two fashion photography exhibitions have us super excited! It's time to geek it up and head out for a bit of gallery hopping...

The Little Black Jacket
What: One hundred and thirteen black and white portraits of models, fashionistas and an assortment of other beautiful people in Chanel's iconic little black jacket. The exhibition of photographs styled by Carine Roitfeld and captured by Karl Lagerfeld has popped up in Tokyo, New York, Taipei and Hong Kong and will be making its London debut on Friday. I spent a very happy afternoon at the exhibition when it came to Hong Kong and left with three gorgeous free posters. From Lily Allen to Yoko Ono and Cate Blanchett to Kanye West, each subject takes classic Chanel and gives it their own personal twist. Top tip: keep your eyes peeled for the lone little white jacket shot...  
Where: Saatchi Gallery (www.saatchi-gallery.co.uk)
When: October 12th - 29th 2012
Admission: Free!


A sneak peek at a couple of images from the exhibition...

Images by Karl Lagerfeld via: www.lebonchic.com, www.robynhobson.com and www.whudat.de

And a few behind the scenes shots from the Little Black Jacket shoots...

Images via: www.thelittleblackjacket.chanel.com

It's open for such a short time, so make sure that you catch it while you can!

Tim Walker: Story Teller
What: Beautiful, decadent and a little bit crazy, Tim Walker's work is the very essence of great fashion photography. A staple on the pages of Vogue, Vanity Fair, W and the New Yorker, Walker's photography will be the focus of an exhibition opening later this month at the home of London Fashion Week, Somerset House. In keeping with the theatre of the photographs on display, the exhibition will also feature shoot props, installations and a series of specially curated films. This promises to be a fairytale monster of an exhibition and we can't wait to check it out!  
Where: Somerset House (www.somersethouse.org.uk)
When: October 18th 2012 - January 27th 2013
Admission: Free!

A few of our favourite Tim Walker shots...

Images by Tim Walker via: www.pinterest.com

And lastly, one for the diary...Valentino: Master of Couture opens at Somerset House on 29th November. Wall to wall Valentino red, behind the scenes footage from the couture atelier and a catwalk placing visitors in the shoes of the models - all in all, far too much fashion geek excitement for these three Mice!

Image via: www.somersethouse.org.uk