There is an exhibition currently at the Salvatore Ferragamo Museum in Florence simply called “Marilyn”.
What began as a plan to feature the shoes that Ferragamo hand made for Marilyn, (she had scores of pairs of pointed pumps all with 11 centimetre heels) became so much more.
There are the shoes, of course, and clothes worn by Marilyn both on and off screen, and a room full of photographs of her compared with beautiful women in art. There are scenes shown from her movies and interviews she did over the years.
My favourite rooms were those filled with her clothes. There was the dress from The Seven Year Itch, costumes from Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, Some Like it Hot and many other movies she made. The dress she wore when she sang Happy Birthday to President Kennedy is on show along with a video of her performance.
No photographs were allowed, I really wanted to sneak some but there were guards everywhere and I didn’t want to be thrown out. But I have scratched up some photos from elsewhere.
The dress I loved the most was the pink one from Gentlemen prefer blondes. I think she was at her loveliest in this movie and that scene is wonderful. I felt quite sad standing in front of the dress, imagining her wearing it. It is surprisingly tiny and it is just a dress, but it reminded me just how much I loved her movies.
The exhibition is on until January 28, 2013……great, I can see it again and again.