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Life magazine described 1954 as the "Year of Grace" because, during that year, Grace Kelly proved Hollywood's top female box-office attraction, starring in no fewer than five films, including The Country Girl, a powerful domestic drama for which she won the best actress Oscar.
Fast-forward to 2010 and it is another big moment for Kelly. This season, a diverse range of designers, such as Erdem and Prada, have conceived collections that reference her flirty femininity, as well as her signature polished glamour. And while Mad Men's sensational blonde, Betty Draper, has been drawing attention for her Kelly-esque look of twinsets and pearls, the V & A will be celebrating Her Serene Highness with "Grace Kelly: Style Icon".
The exhibition is an adaptation of "The Grace Kelly Years", which was originally staged at Monte Carlo's Grimaldi Forum in 2007. Frederic Mitterand - nephew of former French president Francois Mitterand - spent two years conceiving the inaugural retrospective, and the V & A will display the selection he made from a meticulously maintained archive holding 250 of Kelly's dresses at the Prince's Palace of Monaco.
Jenny Lister, fashion curator at the V & A, has made its exhibition unique by investigating Kelly's style through three succinct sections that reflect seminal stages in her life: namely, as an actress, a bride...