On 29th October, the first personal exhibition dedicated to the designer Lorenzo Riva, curated by Paolo Aquilini and entitled “ll maestro è nell’anima. Lorenzo Riva - Cinquant’anni di alta moda” (The master is in the soul. Lorenzo Riva - Fifty years of high fashion), will take place at the Museo della Seta in Como (Como Silk Museum).
Worldwide known for having dressed the most important brides of the international Jet set, Riva is also the undisputed master of prêt-à-porter style, of high fashion clothes and of sensual evening dresses.

The exhibition of the Museo della Seta (Silk Museum) celebrates the fifty years of activity displaying clothes, sketches, international press reviews and, for the first time, shows the eclectic genius of the designer from Monza, through his little known but incredible collaborations. At the base of the exhibition there is a wide and long cataloging of the designer's archive, made up of clothes, accessories, photographs and sketches collected over the years: all the elements that collect and pay a tribute to his multifaceted activity, that also includes several collaborations with the world of cinema: "I panni sporchi" by Monicelli in 1999, "Il tempo delle mimose" by Bracco in 2013 and "La migliore offerta" by Tornatore in 2015 are the titles of some films in which the actresses wear the extraordinary clothes designed by Riva.
Movie stars wears his clothes too: Isabella Rossellini, Penelope Cruz, Jerry Hall, Chiara Mastroianni just to name a few.

In the Seventies, Eighties and Nineties Riva spent a lot of time in the cultural centres of Milan and collaborated with great contemporary artists, protagonists of the Italian post-war period: the most prestigious collaboration, that will be on exhibition, is the one with Mimmo Rotella, the undisputed creator of Italian pop art; some of his clothes are the re-elaborated version of the famous paintings by the author, worldwide known for his décollages.
Riva's artistic production from the Sixties to the present is a temporal overview of changing genres and eras, and the exhibition will focus on this aspect: outlining the historical changes in taste and style, the evolution in the aesthetic taste of fashion and the consequent stylistic innovation.

The idea for this exhibition was born from the donation to the museum of a magnificent dress created by Lorenzo Riva on the occasion of the presentation of the last autumn's edition of Tess, the magazine dedicated to the international fashion and to the creativity of Como. An emerald green tailored dress, made of a wonderful new generation silk produced by Tessitura Imperiali. If we add the strong bond with Como that Lorenzo has always had – it is here that he chose his fabrics, it is here that he had many of his inspirations and it is here that he came for relaxing - everything seemed perfect to celebrate his international fame from all angles: both as designer of dresses for brides and movie stars and his link with art and, finally, with our territory.
The green couture coat with a jewellery clasp, a sartorial creation with which the designer has moved away from his classic style to experience the innovation of a raw and rigid silk, produced by a local weaving factory, is on display, together with clothes and accessories, with a wide range of sketches and photographs that show his long career.

Opening on Tuesday 29th October at 6.00pm.