Last week I was lucky enough to gain access to a private view of the awesome Valentino exhibit currently showing at Somerset House in London. From the epic Julia Roberts vintage Valentino gown she wore to claim her Oscar, through to oodles of Jackie O dresses; this is one exhibit not to miss.
But here’s the thing; contrary to popular belief, I was not always a fine outstanding pillar of the community, and sometimes, just sometimes, the naughty fashion blogger in me sneaks out. Here’s how it panned out;
Extremely polite and well dressed (in Joseph BTW) nice fashion blogger asks if she may take photo’s with her Nikon D7000 stashed in her Mulberry cross body satchel. When given a negative response, naughty fashion blogger, equipped with iPhone 4s (no flash ‘natch) slowly strolls through the lovely exhibit, crammed full of a slightly older generation, and snaps away until she gets caught.
When told by security staff in the second half of the exhibit, (yes I’d made it that far unnoticed) that there were strictly no photo’s to be taken, I apologised proffusely, finished the text I was in the midst of (i.e. Instagram) and pocketed the offensive weapon. To throw the authorities off my trail, I then retraced my steps and looked extremely interested in some pieces that a set of blue rinse ladies were studying.
The upshot ? The exhibit is beyond awesome. It exudes old world luxe, from the vintage sketches, hand written notes from celebs and photographs in the lower level, through to the runway set up on the top level.
As you swan down the runway, mannequins on either side of you are dotted amongst french reproduction chairs pinned with names of famous attendees from Valentino’s past shows.
At the end of the runway, a virtual show from the Valentino Garavani Museum gives you more insight into the masters work.
This is one not to miss – get your ticket booked, leave your camera at home and enjoy the old world charm.