Finding myself on the Gold Coast in the pouring rain and with a day to myself , at the suggestion of my mother in law, I should visit the Valentino Retrospective, so I jumped into my hire car , set the Navman to Stanley Place and drove straight to the Gallery of Modern Art in Brisbane........and was it worth it..... you bet ya!
Leaving the grey dreary skies and relentless drizzling rain outside I was transported back to 1993 when I was a Fashion Design student at the Whitehouse School of Design in Sydney.
Where everyday was filled with guilt free conversations consumed by fashion, fabrics, textures, silhouettes, favourite designers, pleating, top stitching and current trends; we eat, loved and prayed fashion 24/7.
So today, I revisited a little piece of the 20 yr old me where I'd wander around exhibitions for hours, drink in the all the design details until drunk with inspiration.
My hand started to twitch and I knew I wanted to sketch.....I always have a note pad and pen on hand, so out it came, and then out it came.....a little rough at first but here is what I saw......
S/S 1969 - Model 252. Although this marvellous piece hails from the late 1960's, I would wear this in a flash. Coral is one of my favourite colours and the cluster of necklaces.....well anyone who knows me knows how much I L O V E necklaces.
S/S 2003 Model 130 - How amazing are these flowers? These rosettes are made out of crimson taffeta and encrusted with divine jewels and crystals.
I loved this dress, part of the S/S 2008 final Valentino collection, by Valentino, this gorgeous pale blue dress was made out of tulle. The silk tulle was hand stitched with a ruche bodice then it feel away into the most generous but lightest of layers down to the floor. The skirt was adorned with ruffles connecting large hand made silk chiffon roses that floated around the dress.
S/S 2008 - Model 184 - Another of the designs from Valentino's last collection, The Rose Dress. It is constructed with hundreds of layers of floaty Valentino ruffles. Each ruffle is hand dyed and the colour of pink intensifies as you get to the centre of the two cabbage roses.
This was a really truly stunning dress.
Valentino's exceptional team of seamstresses who can turn his sketches into reality with little more than a five minute conversation and a handful of fittings.
A/W 07/08 Model 108 - This little number is actually an autumn winter dress...can't you tell... its got feathers in it and longer sleeves...... The bead work on this dress was very detailed, stars and diamonds all hands stitched in, the hours this would have taken.
Then there are the hand dyed feathers that would have been sewn onto the chiffon tape one at a time......there are millions of feathers in this dress...I mean millions......
S/S-1993 - Model 188 - This dress was worn by Ashley Judd to the Oscars. The silk chiffon is bias cut in stripes, then rolled into thin tubes (like spaghetti) and then stitched onto the base cloth in rows to create this beautiful figure hugging silhouette. I will try to find a picture of her in it and post.
Just a cute little cocktail number with a bow the size of fairy wings on the back..... a what a stunning fairy she makes...or is she a present?
To see one of Valentino's last collections, click the link below.
So there you have, what to do when you find yourself in Brisbane with some spare time and an itch for fashion that needs scratching.
I thoroughly enjoyed myself today, I was on such a high when I left. I stayed right until closing and forgot to have lunch.
The photos above are of the postcards from the exhibition shop I grabbed on the way out. I have ordered the hardcover catalogue and will post more pictures from it when it arrives. (Will be a couple of weeks they said, I can't wait)
In the meantime I am going to dig up some more Valentino dresses worn by my favourite celebrities and will post soon....
Enjoy.
Cheers
Sarah
www.midesigner.com.au
