VALENTINO: THE MASTER OF COUTURE - SOMERSET HOUSE

Whilst in London last week, I visited Somerset House to see Valentino: The Master of Couture exhibition. The exhibition celebrates the life and work of Valentino, showcasing over 130 hand-crafted designs worn by icons such as Grace Kelly, Sophia Loren and Gwyneth Paltrow. The exhibition is a unique experience and is split up into separate rooms. The first room features previously unseen personal photographs, couture invitations and images of Valentino at work and play from his personal archive. The garments are shown down a Catwalk where visitors take a journey through fashion from the 1950's to today. The garments are grouped in themes rather than chronologically, so it did get quite difficult to manoeuvre as it was quite busy and you had to keep walking back on yourself. After this we saw the wedding dress of Princess Marie-Chantal made with ten different kinds of lace and also different techniques that the Fashion house use. The exhibition has run from 29th November 2012 - 3rd March and was well worth seeing such gorgeous detail. If you didn't get to see the exhibition for yourself, view the virtual museum here. 

TIM WALKER STORY TELLER - SOMERSET HOUSE

On a recent trip down to London, I visited Somerset House to see Tim Walker's Story Teller Exhibition. I have always found his Photography work really inspiring, so it was great to see his most famous pieces first hand and the stories behind them. Most of his work reminds me of childhood and fairy tales. One of my favourite photos of his is of Alexander McQueen and a smoking skull. The exhibition features a selection of 175 images, with giant, surreal props like the one above. The surroundings of the gallery is the ideal setting, with the ice rink and christmas tree ready for the winter season. The exhibition is on until January 27th 2013 and a book is also available supporting his imaginative vision.