Whitewall traveled to Doha yesterday for the opening of Maison Valentino’s “Forever Valentino,” presented in collaboration with Qatar Creates and Qatar Museums. Held at the downtown design hub M7, the stunning presentation pays homage to the fashion house’s founder Valentino Garavani and its couture heritage through a vast theatrical experience built from six decades of garments, displayed within the context of the picturesque city of Rome.
Pierpaolo Piccioli, Massimiliano Gioni, and Alexander Fury at “Forever Valentino,” courtesy of Maison Valentino.
Overseen by Creative Director Pierpaolo Piccioli, the experience was curated by the Artistic Director of the New Museum in New York Massimiliano Gioni and the author Alexander Fury. Together they conceived an environment fashioned after the eternal city’s squares, ateliers, and monuments, taking visitors through its historic streets in a way that alluded to the unusually close bond between the fashion house and its birthplace—a relationship that has inspired many a design since its founding in 1959. The dreamy experience tells the tale of Mr. Garavani and his creative signature through more than 200 Haute Couture and pret-à-porter looks, worn by a cast of La Rosa mannequins.
Finding inspiration in the Baroque creative concept of capriccio (an art form reimagining disparate architectural views into fantastically imagined landscapes) and the Dolce Vita mindset that undoubtedly influenced Mr. Garavani in the house’s earlier years, visitors will be faced with scenarios like an ornate Palazzo where an overhead window of blue sky shines down on a sea of all-red designs, or the iconic Spanish steps, where the house introduced its Fall/Winter 2022-23 couture collection. Within a depiction of Valentino’s ateliers, an all-white environment sets the scene for magnificent designs in the same hue. And in another environment, two levels of constructed Roman architecture display gowns and garments in a series of stately archways.
Installation view, “Forever Valentino,” courtesy of Maison Valentino.
The exceptional exhibition features highlights like rarely seen ensembles made for names like Zendaya, Jaqueline Kennedy, and Elizabeth Taylor, as well as a special selection from the private collections of Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser.Falling on the occasion of Mr. Garavani’s 90th birthday, “Forever Valentino” is the house’s largest, most comprehensive exhibition to date, remaining open to visitors through April 1, 2023.
Installation view, “Forever Valentino,” courtesy of Maison Valentino.
Installation view, “Forever Valentino,” courtesy of Maison Valentino.
