DUBAI: Stars from around the world, including American model Olivia Culpo and Romanian-Jordanian shoe designer Amina Muaddi, attended the opening of Valentino’s first Middle East exhibition in Qatar this week.
On Thursday, Qatar Creates, Qatar Museums and Maison Valentino hosted the opening of “Forever Valentino”, a major exhibition that pays homage to the fashion house’s founder, Valentino Garavani, and his still-developing haute couture legacy. .
The exhibition, which is now open at Msheireb Downtown Doha, is the largest ever dedicated to the fashion house with more than 200 pieces of Valentino haute couture and ready-to-wear outfits.
Muaddi posed in a voluminous brown Valentino dress. (Getty)
Coinciding with the celebration of Garavani’s 90th anniversary and the unveiling of Valentino’s “The Beginning” haute couture collection in the heart of Rome, the exhibition is conceived as a vast panorama of the fashion house’s history, integrated into a scenography that evokes the eternal city, where Maison Valentino was founded in 1959.
On the red carpet, Culpo turned heads in a hot pink jumpsuit from the brand’s Fall/Winter 2022/2023 Pink PP collection. She paired it with gloves, a handbag and sparkling diamonds.
Meanwhile, Muaddi posed in a voluminous brown Valentino dress, from the brand’s Spring/Summer 2023 collection, which featured a long cape hanging from the shoulders.
Culpo paired her jumpsuit with gloves, a handbag and sparkling diamonds. (Getty)
Besides Culpo and Muaddi, the opening event also brought together several A-list stars, including American singer and songwriter Janet Jackson, Somali-American model Halima Aden, Canadian model Sabrina Elba, French filmmaker Farida Khelfa, “Real Housewives of Dubai” star Chanel Ayan, Bella and Gigi Hadid’s father, Mohammed Hadid, German model Leonie Hanne, British model and activist Leomie Anderson.
Many celebrities from the Middle East attended, including Yemeni-Emirati singer Balqees Fathi, Egyptian actress Salma Abou Daif, Palestinian singer Elyanna and Lebanese social media star Karen Wazen.
The exhibition rarely saw sets designed for Elizabeth Taylor, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and, more recently, Zendaya.
Many Middle Eastern celebrities attended, including Yemeni-Emirati singer Balqees Fathi. (Getty)
Curated by New Museum New York artistic director Massimiliano Gioni, fashion critic and author Alexander Fury, and Valentino creative director Pierpaolo Piccioli, the exhibition also features sets from the private collection of long-time client Sheikha Moza bint Nasser. fashion house date. .
Sheikha Al-Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, President of Qatar Museums, said in a statement: “With the eyes of the world on Doha as we kick off our exciting schedule of events surrounding the World Cup FIFA, Qatar 2022, I am proud that we welcome the public to an exhibition as imaginative, glamorous and elegant as the subject itself: the creations of Maison Valentino.
“I extend my warmest thanks to everyone who has collaborated with us to realize this tribute to a great artistic vision, and I look forward to continuing to share extraordinary explorations of the best in fashion and design,” a- she added.
