Photo: Valentino

“Today’s gonna get funky,” said Anne Hathaway at this morning’s press conference in honor of the Valentino Garavani Virtual Museum. The actress landed at MoMa straight from last night’s Kennedy Center Honors in D.C. “I have not slept,” she confirmed, before launching into a zealous speech on the “revolutionary” qualities of the digital museum. Though Hathaway had initially refused the invitation to be the “godmother” of the launch, she said Giancarlo Giammetti and Valentino himself persisted, and that once she understood what they were trying to do, she couldn’t say no. “Ladies and gentlemen, today we are witnessing the birth of a revolution and no, I do not believe that word is hyperbolic,” said the actress. “The Valentino family has created something that has never existed before—a virtual museum that will change art, the art world, and how we experience both, forever.”

The virtual museum is pretty impressive. It spans 10,000 square meters and holds over 5,000 images. There are 300 dresses, often paired with images of the celebrities who wore them and Valentino’s original sketches, all of which are accompanied by videos and quotes to give viewers the whole story behind each look. “In the beginning, it has been quite difficult for me to understand this project,” Valentino said. “I was 17 when I started to work and in my entire career when I designed a dress, to see the dress moving, to have real women wearing them, the dress is alive…and so a virtual museum was not easy to understand. And then little by little I start to change my feeling.” Giammetti said they’ve been working on the museum, with help from Google, for two years; he and Valentino are the sole investors and they do plan on expanding the museum and keeping it up to date, technology wise. “I discovered,” said Valentino, “that the museum is a simple and direct connection to the people.” It’s also the easiest way to get an incredibly close up look at the haute couture details of his most extravagant dresses. The viewer can rotate the dress and zoom in on even the tiniest stitches. Hathaway said, “Great works of art occasionally get lost in the whirlwind. The pace [of the fashion industry] can prevent you from fully marinating in the art of the clothes.” Valentino’s solved that problem!