A date with an Emperor – of fashion that is. I gave a talk at the closing of the Valentino exhibition. The room was shielded by beauty. I couldn’t help but feel the life and energy emanate from Valentino’s life time of creations. Each garment standing tall with a distinguished air of grace. It reminded me of  the Terracotta Army in Xi’an created by another kind of emperor, none the less the message was the same. Valentino’s garments were like soldiers of his soul clearly created to stand the test of time. Looking closely you could see that some bore battle scares from there runway triumphs or silver screen adventures where others were as pristine as the day they were sewn. Each one being different than the other with it’s own story to tell or secrets to keep?