| THE VALENTINA
COUTURE EXHIBIT AT THE MUSEUM OF THE CITY OF
NEW YORK IS SENSATIONAL
If you haven’t seen the exhibit, Valentina:
American Couture and the Cult of Celebrity, I
suggest you do so. I heard how great it was,
but was even more amazed at the ability of this
exhibit to bring back the olden golden days of
fashion. It was as if the personalities of the
deceased were on temporary loan to the space
and time of Valentina’s design reign.
As the press release says, “The exhibition
will provide the missing link in history of the
American fashion legend and the talent that was
shrouded in mystery.” Although the exhibit
is encased in one room on the first floor of the
museum, it feels like you are being drawn into
layers of fashion history (it seems like decades
were pressed into one room).
Valentina arrived in New York City in 1923 with
a basic knowledge of sewing. During wartime she
invented American couture and designed the wardrobes
of the rich and famous - actresses such as Greta
Garbo, Katharine Hepburn, Katharine Cornell, and
Merle Oberon - and socialites such as the Duchess
of Windsor, Mrs. William Randolph Hearst and the
heiress Millicent Rogers. As a young immigrant
from the Ukraine, Valentina cultivated the famous
and the rich, and enjoyed this silver screen popularity
in her own right (the photos and dresses will amaze
you).
The exhibition is drawn from the Museum’s
collection of Valentina’s work in their Costume
Collection and Phyllis Magidson, the Museum’s
Curator of Costumes and Textiles, selected many
dresses from the Valentina estate shortly after
her death and added pieces to the collection.
What is astounding is that many of the dresses
(and hats) she designed are now in style. The draping
and body hugging dresses with capes are perfect
for today’s fashion sense. It is as if Valentina
had a 21st Century eye on what fashion would be
from a 40’s perspective. It is quite amazing
to see her genius up close.
The white silk Grecian jersey dress worn by Katharine
Hepburn in the Broadway stage production of The
Philadelphia Story (1939) is on display as well
as the one-shouldered red gown designed for prima
ballerina Vera Zorina, then the wife of George
Balanchine.
A black woolen coat designed for Greta Garbo is
there as well as Valentina’s own clothing
from the 40’s.
Born Valentina Nicolaevna Sanina, probably in
1899, Valentina studied ballet and theater arts
in her youth. Later, while living in Paris, she
was a corps member of the Revue Russe (in 1922)
before arriving in New York with George Schlee.
She did theatre and modeling and then started a
design business with George Schlee. Drawing on
her early theatrical contacts, she designed costumes
for the stage and wardrobes for famous New Yorkers.
Ultimately, her salon was located at 21 East 67th
Street.
Valentina had an unwavering view of personal style.
She once declared, “I hate fashion!” implying
that while trends often bullied women, true style
was immutable. She also advised: “Fit the
century, forget the year.”
Valentina’s business thrived well into
the 1950s, when ready-to-wear became a staple of
fashion houses in Paris and New York. She closed
her salon in 1957, but remained active in fashion
as a consultant for industrial design firms, textile
concerns, designers and for the stage. She remained
a celebrity despite changing times and fashions,
finding her way into the press until—and
long after—her death on September 14, 1989,
at the age of 90.
The exhibit co-chairs were Eric M. Javits Jr.
and Tara Rockefeller and much of the funding came
from The Coby Foundation.
If you know of any dress designers tell them to
rush over for inspiration. There are also hats
on display from this time in space.
Museum of the City of New York, 1220 Fifth Avenue,
NYC, phone: (212) 534-1672. |
