With the patronage of the Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana, the first exhibition in Italy dedicated to Ossie Clark and Celia Birtwell arrives in Milan at the Sozzani Foundation on 15 January. "Mr & Mrs Clark" recounts the journey of the two creatives and explores the genius of Celia's design, who developed prints inspired by nature and the artistic avant-garde, and of the talent of Ossie who, with his mastery in cuts and modeling, gave life to sensual and feminine dresses.

Their union, even in private life, was immortalized by David Hockney in the famous painting Mr and Mrs Clark and Percy, (1970-71, kept at the Tate Britain in London), which represents not only a portrait of two stylists, but also a manifesto of a new creative class between art and fashion. In this sense, Carla Sozzani writes in the preface of the book published by Silvana Editoriale: “Ossie and Celia are also the story of a special alchemy, one of the first examples of creative couples who worked together to complement each other in total harmony. Celia Birtwell and Ossie Clark are among the famous couples where one can never tell where one's creativity ended and the other's began”.

“Mr & Mrs Clark. Ossie Clark and Celia Birtwell. Fashion and Prints 1965-1974” is a project shared between the Textile Museum of Prato and the Sozzani Foundation. The exhibition and the book, curated by Federico Poletti, enhance through various exhibition materials (including sketchbooks and period photos) an important nucleus of clothes designed by the London stylist and coming from the collection of Massimo Cantini Parrini (famous and award-winning costume designer). Lauren Lepire (founder of the Timeless Vixen vintage store in Los Angeles), from the archives of Celia Birtwell and the Clark family.