In Dec 2011 in New York, Italian fashion icon Valentino Garavani unveiled a first-of-its-kind virtual museum at the Museum of Modern Art. An ode to the designer’s iconic fashion design, it’s the world’s first virtual fashion museum.
The launch event was live-streamed on YouTube and featured a maniacally enthusiastic Anne Hathaway as host. Presenters included Valentino, his business partner Giancarlo Giammetti, Google Art Project’s creator Amit Sood, and Italian Vogue editor-in-chief, Franca Sozzani. A sleepy-looking Hugh Jackman jumped on stage for the virtual “ribbon cutting.”
Giancarlo explained that the 3D museum was originally conceived as “an idea space.” Google Art Projects, which had been working on virtual museums for the National Gallery, MoMA, Uffizi, Tate Britain, and France’s Palace of Versailles, became involved after Valentino reached out with his initial ideas.
