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The Jewish Chronicle

State of Grace

Grace Kelly with her cool, blonde, debutante style was less copied.

April 22, 2010 14:14
Grey-black dress, 25. Tu at Sainsbury

ByJan Shure, Jan Shure

2 min read

As one third of the iconic mid-20th century style triumvirate including Jackie O and Audrey Hepburn, Grace Kelly, the model-turned-actress-turned-real life princess made her mark on the way women across Europe and the USA dressed for most of the 1950s and 1960s. But while Jackie O and Audrey Hepburn have become bywords in the last decade for a polished style of timeless, restrained, retro chic comprising little shift dresses, big sunnies and low-heel courts, Grace Kelly with her cool, blonde, debutante style was less copied.

But that’s all set to change. With Grace Kelly: Style Icon, the exhibition which opened last weekend at the V&A, the late Princess Grace of Monaco is set to have a fashion moment all of her own.

The exhibition, sponsored by Van Cleef & Arpels, a suite of whose jewellery was her first gift from Prince Rainier, is a must for everyone with an interest in fashion. Following the evolution of her style from 1954 to the 1980s, it gorgeously chronicles how she became an icon for classic American fashion and later for Paris couture. One of the most gorgeous, and quintessentially Grace Kelly pieces is an exquisitely understated navy coat from 1956. It has bracelet-length sleeves, flared skirt, and a bow at the high waistline, and is by New York-based label Ben Zuckerman.

Although later, as the wife of Prince Rainier, Kelly would turn to Paris’s loftiest couturiers — Balenciaga, Givenchy, Yves St Laurent and Christian Dior — during the mid-50s, while still pursuing a movie career, she chose the designers from the big Hollywood studios to make many of her key pieces, notably Paramount’s chief costume designer, Edith Head (born Edith Posener to Jewish parents), and Helen Rose, MGM’s Jewish costume designer.