The exhibition features over 200 Valentino Haute Couture pieces and 96 accessories.
Visitors to the ‘Forever Valentino’ exhibition will enjoy a panoramic view of the Maison Valentino showcasing the beloved brand as the exhibition evokes the captivating city of Rome, where the brand was founded in 1959.
The collection displayed at M7, Msheireb Downtown Doha and presented by Qatar Creates and Qatar Museums takes visitors on an ethereal journey through time, highlighting Valentino’s past and present, spread across 16 rooms. It also pays homage to Valentino’s founder Valentino Garavani who turned 90 this year and the Maison’s still-unfolding heritage of Haute Couture.
From the collection of Valentino shades of red to the pink room and a depiction of the Spanish Steps in Rome, a homage to Valentino Couture Fall 2022 show and on to the museum collection and the cinema room, visitors can enjoy the fashion journey from Saturday to Thursday 9am to 7pm and on Fridays from 1:30pm to 7pm.
The exhibition runs until April 1, 2023. The Forever Valentino app also offers more information on the iconic and unique fashion pieces on display.
‘Forever Valentino’ is curated by the artistic director of the New Museum New York, Massimilano Gioni and fashion critic Alexander Fury, in collaboration with Pier Paolo Piccioli, creative director at Valentino.
The exhibition is the largest ever devoted to Maison Valentino and is the first presentation in the Middle East.
Speaking to The Peninsula after a tour of the exhibition, Issa Al Shirawi, Project Manager at Qatar Museums, said the ‘emotional’ exhibition would make visitors feel closer to the brand.
“The exhibition is quite emotional. It’s an emotional exhibition, and we want it to bring out emotions, whether it’s happiness or if it’s a little nostalgia. And that’s what you’re seeing because of the range of the dresses, music, sound, videos, and archive images. You get moved by that. I think it’s up to the visitor to define their meaning of an exhibition,” Al Shirawi said.
The exhibition features over 200 Valentino Haute Couture pieces and 96 accessories on mannequins by La Rosa. It includes rarely-seen ensembles designed for some of the most prominent influential people and celebrities like Elizabeth Taylor, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Angelina Jolie, Beyonce, Zendaya and more. The exhibition also features ensembles from the private collection of H H Sheikha Moza bint Nasser.
According to Al Shirawi, organisers want visitors to be educated, which is one of this exhibition’s defining tenets. He said the goal is to educate not just creatives but other people on brand history, legacy, and brand development, but also from a more practical level as to the design process.
“The exhibition, in general, is great to have at this time for a few reasons. One is that Maison Valentino is very near and dear to Qatar. It’s one of its beloved brands particularly. It fits in the mission and vision of M7 as a fashion and design incubator serving the creative cultural economy,” Al Shirawi added.
