'Forget Mr Berlusconi, we all have our problems,' joked legendary fashion writer Colin McDowell last week in his speech marking the opening of Masters of Style, the new fashion photography exhibit at London's Somerset House. Forget the scandal-prone Italian Prime Minister, McDowell insisted, and instead focus on 'what Italian style is about. It's about doing it properly, doing it without fuss, doing it chicly.'

Open until 14th August, Masters of Style brings together imagery from six major Italian fashion brands, each collection of photographs housed in temporary 'pavilions' in the Embankment Galleries. From the first ever Gucci print advertisement in 1922 to Madonna washing dishes in a 2008 Dolce and Gabbana tableau of Sicilian life, the images were all personally chosen by the respective designers. The Missoni selection is awash with the house's iconic striped knits, and the Salvatore Ferragamo offering features far more shoes than it does people, while Giorgio Armani showcases his many collaborations with famed photographer duo Mert Alas and Marcus Piggot. Rounding off the exhibition, supermodels Amber Valletta and Christy Turlington are centre stage as Miuccia Prada's 90's muses.

Prada campaign by Albert Watson, 1988

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Tags:Somerset House,Masters of Style,Colin McDowell

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