Valentino’s Mirabilia Romae: La Mostra Diffusa

Of all the amazing, surreal, pinch me experiences I’ve had during my fashion career so far this has to be the most mind boggling of the lot. My borderline unhealthy obsession with Valentino is far from a secret. I adore every single thing about the legendary Maison; from its rich history, flawless standards of luxury and commitment to the art of haute couture to the brand’s contemporary marketing strategy, progressive attitude and approach to digital media, not forgetting of course those heart meltingly beautiful clothes. So travelling to Rome as a guest of Valentino for a two day discovery of its heritage and future was nothing short of a dream come true…

I’ve definitely told you fifteen plus different times that I basically wrote my University thesis about Valentino. When it came to researching and analysing the work of Creative Directors, Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pierpaolo Piccoli, I looked a lot at the huge shows they’ve put on around the world over the past few years – 2013’s all red Shanghai spectacular and last year’s New York couture collection – and longed to one day be invited myself, overwhelmed by unattractive feelings of jealous directed towards those who did get to go. When that much coveted invitation came nothing, and I mean NOTHING, would have stopped me going! After almost a week in Paris for the Haute Couture shows (catch up on my diaries here) I was up at the crack of dawn and off to the airport where I would be joining the likes of Suzy Menkes, Edward Enninful, Anna Dello Russo and Hamish Bowles to name but a handful on a chartered-by-Valentino flight to Rome. So far, so surreal, I know. As my dad said in a slightly piss taking but actually rather accurate way when I recounted this tale to him, had that plane gone down the fashion industry would have taken one hell of a hit.

Why did Valentino decide to fly a hoard of fashion’s finest from Paris to Rome at the end of Haute Couture week? A number of reasons, first and foremost Rome is an utterly integral part of the Valentino brand. It is where Valentino Garavani himself launched the company – in 1960 at 54 Via Gregoriana to be exact #geek – and where its headquarters and atelier remain to this day. Current Creative Directors Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pierpaolo Piccoli continually reference the Maison’s Italian heritage in their collections and Rome always lies at the heart of those references. It is a magical, beautiful, inspiring place and incidentally the city in which I myself fell in love with fashion, on a family trip their aged 12 when my father was producing the programme Fashion House. Ever innovative, original and challenging; this year Valentino decided that in lieu of a couture catwalk show on the Paris schedule, and possible supplementary event elsewhere, they would put all their efforts, love and creative excellence into creating a truly unforgettable experience in the brand’s mother city in order to truly immerse their guests into their world. It was a bold, surprising and unconventional move but one that worked like the dream that we all knew it would be and gave a number of lucky attendees the time of their life.

Charlotte, Ed, Max, Sofie, Me, Hedvig & Nicole

We arrived in sweltering Rome around midday and checked into The Westin – or rather attempted to – before heading out on La Mostra Diffusa, a curatorial concept that would see us discover a selection of closed-to-the-public locations that have inspired Maria Grazia and Pierpaolo’s work. As with most hotels, our check in time wasn’t until mid afternoon and I have never regretted anything so much as having oversleept that morning an subsequently not had had time to shower before getting on the plane. When surrounded by the impossibly gorgeous, impeccably chic likes of Charlotte Groeneveld (The Fashion Guitar) Sofie Valkiers (Fashionata), Tina Leung (Tina Loves) Susie Lau (Style Bubble), Hedvig Opshaug (The Northern Light) and Nicole Warne (Gary Pepper Girl) a split second outfit change and liberal perfume dousing in a lobby loos makes you feel a bit gross. Luckily oversized sunglasses hide a myriad of sins and within about 2 seconds of arriving at our first location, the majestic Villa Medici, I’d forgotten to worry about the fact that I might smell and/or look like I had skipped out on actually washing.

Me, Charlotte, Sofie & Hedvig at Villa Medici

Villa Medici gardens

Valentino Haute Couture installation in the Gabinetto di Ferdinando

Whizzing through the gorgeous streets of Rome in white canopied golf buggies was in itself pretty awesome but the novelty of that experience paled in comparison to the beauty of the sumptuous gardens and Gabinetto di Ferdinando where Antonio Vivaldi’s 4 Seasons serenaded a display of Haute Couture dresses from the AW12 and SS13 collections. Between the location, the music and the wearable artworks for us to feast our eyes on, it was a mesmerising immersion into the inspirations behind some of the Maison’s most exquisite creations.

Luigi Ontani Atelier

From there we journeyed on to the Luigi Ontani Atelier, a pristine white-marble temple of Antonio Canova that today serves as the creative laboratory of the aforementioned renowned contemporary artist. It was a fascinating place, heavily scented by joss sticks and bursting with brilliantly bizarre creations.

Charlotte, Me, Hedvig & Sofie

By this point the 4am wakeup was starting to take its toll and having only consumed highly questionable airport sandwiches, we were all starting to flag more than a little. Our location being Rome, there was no shortage of edible treats to be found so we popped into the nearest hole in the wall trattoria for a quick bite before heading on to the stunning Galleria Del Primaticcio Palazzo Firenze. There, under an exquisite frescoed ceiling we feasted our eyes on more Haute Couture creations from seasons gone by while the sounds of Alexandre Despat and Nyman soothed our ears.

Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2013 on display at Gallery Del Primaticcio

There is so, so much more I could say about about La Mostra Diffusa. It was a curatorial concept unlike any other I’ve encountered and one that truly communicated and magic and mystery of La Città Eterna, as well as demonstrating the depth of its link with Maison Valentino. I could write about the experience all day but we’ve hit the 1000 word mark so I’ll finish with the Sacristy Sant’Agnese in Agone, a private chapel commissioned by Pop Innocent X Pamphilj where we climbed up to a rooftop overlooking the Piazza Navona.

Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2013 “Madonna” overlooking Rome from Sacristy Sant’Agnese

With incense lightly perfuming the air and the ecclesiastically stunning “Madonne” Haute Couture dress displayed regally overlooking the city I felt, at the risk of sounding truly cheesy, extremely lucky.

Sala D’Armi Accademia Musumeci Greco

Palazzo Pecci Blunt

Biblioteca Casanatense

Bagno di Diana

My post on the evening’s Haute Couture show, dinner and after party is coming up very soon!

Love Ella. X

Images c/o Maxime Sapozhnikov & Maison Valentino