Forever Valentino: inside the Italian house’s most comprehensive exhibition yet

‘Forever Valentino’, a new exhibition in Doha, Qatar, marks the Italian house’s most comprehensive exhibition yet, leading viewers on a colourful journey through Valentino past and present with over 200 pieces which span its beginnings in 1959 to the current tenure of creative director Pierpaolo Piccioli. Held at M7, Msheireb Downtown Doha’s design hub, it also coincides with the continuing birthday celebrations of house founder Valentino Garavani who turned 90 this past May.

‘The title of the exhibition says it all. Forever,’ Piccioli tells Wallpaper*. ‘The value of maison Valentino is timeless, it reveals its authenticity by constantly evolving. 60 years of this experience were made possible by the work of a couturier named Valentino Garavani, whose vision is still meaningful for today. Our conscious heritage has always moved forward, towards the future and the complexity of humanity. This balance moved my aesthetic idea of the exhibition, which is a perspective, not a retrospective, an act of love.’

’Forever Valentino’ at Doha’s M7 hub

‘Forever Valentino’ is curated by artistic director of the New Museum New York, Massimilano Gioni and fashion critic Alexander Fury, in collaboration with Piccioli. The panoramic installation – featuring mannequins by La Rosa, known for its made-in-Italy recycled and sustainable designs – features both recognisable and rarely seen pieces, designed over the years for Elizabeth Taylor, Jacqueline Kennedy and Zendaya, among others. Valentino’s home city of Rome is a particular focus, evoked in the exhibition’s scenography, but also in the pieces themselves which trace the house’s roots in Romanesque design, architecture and la dolce vita.

‘The legacy of Valentino Garavani – and therefore the meaning of Valentino – is to celebrate beauty, in all its incarnations, from every walk of life and every period of time,’ adds Fury. ‘That noble quest, that ceaseless search for and celebration of beauty to better the world is, for me, Forever Valentino.’

The collaboration comes as part of Qatar Creates, a year-round cultural movement aimed at championing arts, culture and fashion in Qatar led by Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, sister to the Emir of Qatar, who is tasked with boosting Qatar’s cultural programmes. Earlier this week, the Fashion Trust Arabia Prize 2022 also took place in Doha, celebrating young fashion talent from the MENA region, for which Piccioli was a judge.

Forever Valentino runs at Gallery 1 and 2, M7, in Msheireb Downtown Doha, from 28 October 2022 to 1 April 2023.

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