Whether you remember her as Grace Kelly, Hollywood actress, as Princess Grace of Monaco, devoted ambassador, or simply as the beautiful girl who inspired Hermès to create its enduringly covetable Kelly bag, there'll be something for you to ooh and aah over at the V&A when the museum puts the contents of the iconic star's wardrobe on display in April.
Grace Kelly: Style Icon will feature the dresses, suits and accessories that defined Kelly as one of the most stylish women of her generation and chart the changes in fashion across the '50s, '60s and '70s, as well as including the dresses she wore in hit films such as High Society and Rear Window.
Split into three distinct sections - The Actress, The Bride and The Princess - the collection includes key pieces by Christian Dior, Balenciaga and Chanel, plus the unmissable Mondrian dress designed by Yves Saint Laurent himself in 1965. The lace bodice and skirt that Kelly wore for her civil marriage ceremony to Prince Rainier of Monaco in 1956 will also be on display, against a backdrop of archive film footage of their more lavish religious ceremony.
"My mother treasured her clothes and would have been delighted to have them exhibited at the V&A," says HSH Prince Albert. "Throughout her life she exuded effortless elegance, whether she was appearing at the most spectacular public occasion, or a simple family gathering."
The exhibition is sponsored by Van Cleef and Arpels, who often created Kelly's jewellery - much of which will also be on display.
Catch it at the V&A from 17 April to 26 September 2010.
Picture: Grace Kelly posing for a photo shoot circa 1950.
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