VIVA VALENTINO

To celebrate the Italian house's illustrious haute couture and the 90th anniversary of its founder, creative director PIERPAOLO PICCIOLI is staging an exhibition with Qatar Creates and Qatar Museums. He walks us through the show, talks about his couture ideals and explains why it isn't a "retrospective".

- GENNADY ORESHKIN

1959 marked the birth of a new era in fashion. When a structured sleeveless tulle midi dress, dubbed Fiesta and adorned with sculpted roses, walked down the halls of an intimate atelier in Rome, it was clear the established hierarchy of fashion monarchs had acquired a new member - Valentino Garavani. Today the house's legacy, which has stretched over more than six decades, is still unfolding.

"My mind goes to the Fiesta dress, from 1959 Valentino Garavani's first collection," the brand's creative director Pierpaolo Piccioli tells me of his favourite couture dress. "Not only is it a majestic piece of work, but it embodies a love for couture and a passion for graceful details. Being the first of many important pieces, Fiesta has all the spontaneity of the beginning; it opens the path to a wonderful story."

Fiesta marked the first time Valentino Red became the staunch symbol of the house, as well as the beginning of a long tradition of including at least one piece in the colour in each of its shows. Those not fluent in fashion history might recognise Fiesta as a piece worn by Jennifer Aniston in 2004 to the premiere of Along Came Polly.

To celebrate its founder's 90th birthday, the house is staging the Forever Valentino exhibition at M7, Msheireb Downtown Doha in Qatar, which is open to the public until Apr 1. In sections themed Palazzo, Beginnings, Des Ateliers, Capriccio Romano, Di.Vas, Parade, Wunderkammer, Archaeologies, Cahiers de Defile and Roman Conversations, more than 200 haute couture and prêt-à-porter pieces occupy 10 of the museum's rooms. "It's an open dialogue between Mr Valentino and me," says Piccioli. "I feel the need to share this evolutive process and highlight some stable key points once they've reached their highest result."