It’s time to consider a visit to Brisbane, Australia. Normally known for being the capital of the ‘sunshine state’, it has never been one to rival the fashion stakes of the more southern cities of Melbourne and Sydney. But it has scored a big fashion coup, Brisbane’s Gallery of Modern Art is set to launch the ‘Valentino, Retrospective: Past/Present/Future’ exhibition on August 7 and running through to 14 November 2010. And if you’ve seen the amazing Valentino, The Last Emperor documentary, you will understand the grandeur which will be on show. On a slightly smaller scale of course.
This is one of the biggest high fashion exhibitions to hit the land down under and will see 100 iconic pieces on display in an exhibition designed and realised by Les Arts Decoratifs, Paris, with the assistance of the house of Valentino. It will include iconic designs by Valentino Garavani from the late 1950s to his final collection in 2008 with iconic designs worn by the likes of Julia Roberts, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Elizabeth Taylor, Cate Blanchett and Nicole Kidman also on show.
“We are honoured to be the exclusive Australian venue for this extraordinary exhibition that will engage followers of Valentino and fashion lovers from all over the country,” Queensland Art Gallery Director Tony Ellwood said.
“The exhibition explores Valentino’s techniques and recurring motifs such as ornamentation, the use of geometric and animal prints, frills, folds and pleats as well as the creative possibilities of volume, surface and line.”
But it’s not just an exhibition of the past, five recent designs by the house of Valentino”s new creative directors Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pier Paolo Piccioli are also highlighted to show the future of the fashion house.
If you can’t get yourself to Brisbane to see the exhibition, you can purchase a hardcover companion book entitled ‘Valentino, Retrospective: Past/Present/Future’ (the same name as the exhibition) will be published by Rizzoli and will be available to purchase on the Gallery of Modern Art’s online shop and at the gallery.
Looks like we’’l be trying to organize a weekend trip up north during the Australian winter – in the name of fashion of course.
