Fashion's Numero Uno
Valentino And The Ladies Who Love Him
Valentino's three-day Roman extravaganza drew a crowd of celebrity and royal fans of his couture creations. At left, Uma Thurman arrives at the Ara Pacis for the exhibition opening Friday, July 6, 2007, in Rome.
Valentino And The Ladies Who Love Him
An invitation to the Valentino party was enough to make some fashion fans bail out of Paris Fashion Week early. Here, Princess Charlotte Casiraghi, daughter of Princess Caroline and granddaughter of the late Princess Grace of Monaco, leaves her hotel in Rome for the celebration.
Valentino And The Ladies Who Love Him
Three days of events are planned to celebrate the milestone in the city where the designer, christened Valentino Garavani, opened his first atelier in 1959. The main event is the retrospective of his career at the Ara Pacis museum. At left, Valentino gowns are displayed at the museum on the opening day of the exhibition, Friday, July 6, 2007.
Valentino And The Ladies Who Love Him
Creations by Valentino are displayed inside the Ara Pacis museum on Friday, July 6, 2007.
Valentino And The Ladies Who Love Him
Model Elle McPherson, left, and actress Uma Thurman smile for the cameras at the Venus temple in central Rome, where a gala dinner in honor of Valentino's 45-year career was held on Friday, July 6, 2007.
Valentino And The Ladies Who Love Him
Actress Liz Hurley arrives at the Ara Pacis for the Valentino exhibition opening Friday, July 6, 2007, in Rome. The fashion icon is presenting his latest haute couture collection in Rome after 17 years in Paris.
Valentino And The Ladies Who Love Him
Princess Caroline of Monaco and her husband, Prince Ernst of Hanover, arrive at the Ara Pacis for the Valentino exhibition opening on Friday, July 6, 2007, in Rome.
Valentino And The Ladies Who Love Him
More than 200 outfits from collections Valentino created throughout his career are on display in the museum. Many are in the designer's trademark "Pompeian red."
Valentino And The Ladies Who Love Him
Dresses by Valentino are displayed inside the Ara Pacis museum on the opening day of the retrospective exhibition, Friday, July 6, 2007.
Valentino And The Ladies Who Love Him
A fashionable crowd of mannequins in black is posed inside the Ara Pacis museum for the opening day of the Valentino exhibition, Friday, July 6, 2007.
Valentino And The Ladies Who Love Him
The Ara Pacis museum is Rome's newest, designed by Richard Meir and opened in 2006, but it's built to house an ancient artifact: the carved marble "altar of peace" created in Rome in 13 BC. At left, gowned mannequins stand inside the Ara Pacis on Friday, July 6, 2007.
Valentino And The Ladies Who Love Him
Romans are particularly happy with Valentino right now. The designer has moved his couture house back to his native city after 17 years based in Paris. Here, the fashion designer poses at the opening of the exhibition of his work at the Ara Pacis on Friday, July 6, 2007.
Valentino And The Ladies Who Love Him
Valentino's three-day party drew celebrities from around the world. At left, model Claudia Schiffer arrives at the Ara Pacis museum on Friday, July 6, 2007.
Valentino And The Ladies Who Love Him
American actress Anne Hathaway arrives at the Ara Pacis museum part in Rome on Friday, July 6, 2007.
Valentino And The Ladies Who Love Him
Actress Eva Mendes poses at the Ara Pacis museum in Rome on Friday, July 6, 2007.
Valentino And The Ladies Who Love Him
Sarah Jessica Parker and her husband Matthew Broderick pose at the Ara Pacis museum on Friday, July 6, 2007.
Valentino And The Ladies Who Love Him
British actor Rupert Everett appears at the Ara Pacis in Rome on Friday, July 6, 2007.
Valentino And The Ladies Who Love Him
Mannequins wearing Valentino stand inside the Ara Pacis museum on Friday, July 6, 2007.
Valentino And The Ladies Who Love Him
In a press conference, Valentino said he has always wanted to design dresses that look nice on every woman and that last forever. Not surprisingly, he said he "hates the grunge look and minimalism." Grunge, he says, is "outrageous" and minimalism makes women "look like little nuns." At left, Valentino gowns are displayed inside the Ara Pacis museum on Friday, July 6, 2007.