This handsome catalog accompanies a major exhibition on the life and work of the legendary fashion designer Valentino. Unlike previous publications on the designer, Valentino Master of Couture: A Private View concentrates equally on the fascinating life as well as the transcendent dresses of Valentino. For the first time Valentino allowed accessed to his personal archives images of Valentino at work with dressmakers and models mingle with personal snapshots by Valentino and his extended family at play: Valentino in private conversation with Elizabeth Taylor and Jackie Onassis (a loyal client), partying with Liza Minelli and Diane von Furstenberg, attending the opera with Mihail Barysnikov and Brooke Shields. In additions to these intimate photographs, three photographic portfolio of Valentino's fabled dresses and insightful texts round out this fascinating book, giving the reader tantalizing glimpses into the personal life of one of the most well-known and admired figures in fashion today