Grace Kelly Fashion Exhibition Opens in London

From actress to princess and leading philanthropist; the V&A Museum pays tribute to her life.

The epitome of understated chic, Grace Kelly was famed for her fashion sense. Now her stunning wardrobe has been brought back to life at London's Victoria and Albert Museum in London.
With 40 of her iconic dresses on display and cabinets of shoes, bags, sunglasses and jewelry, the exhibit opened to rave reviews this weekend in the capital.
Paying tribute to her life as an Oscar-winning actress, highlights include the grey and pink silk chiffon dress embroidered with roses, which she wore in the famous dancing scene with Frank Sinatra in High Society (MGM later gave the dress to her and she wore it several times to various events) as well as outfits from the many Hitchcock films she starred in.
When Kelly left Hollywood behind to marry Prince Rainier III of Monaco in 1956, she stepped up the fashion stakes, wearing haute couture by Chanel and Christian Dior but the Philadelphia-born fashionista never got complacent and according to the exhibition's curator, treated all of her clothes like "old friends", preserving them in dust bags and often wearing the same outfit more than once.
"She's one of the few people who deserves this title of style icon. It's very hard to find anyone else today who can be remembered in the same way 50 years from now," curator, Jenny Lister told AFP adding: "She liked beautiful fabrics, she always accessorized it very carefully with plain white gloves and jewelry."
And wasn't just her style that she left in her legacy. Two years after her marriage, Princess Grace became president of the Monaco Red Cross, using her many celebrity connections to organize fundraising events for the charity. In her first year as a princess, she started an annual Christmas party for the children of Monaco and in 1963 she became the founding president of AMADE, a nonprofit charity helping children in need around the world.
Looks like she wasn't called Grace for nothing.
The exhibition, "Grace Kelly: Style Icon" runs through September 26.