'That' dress is star of show

If you have ever wondered what "that dress" - the one with the safety pins that launched Liz Hurley onto an unsuspecting world at the premiere of Four Weddings And A Funeral - looks like close up, now is your chance.

Versace at the V&A, a retrospective of the work of Italian fashion designer Gianni Versace, opens today - and the revealing dress worn by Hurley is one of the star attractions.

The exhibition promises to show off more than 130 designs by the flamboyant and provocative designer, who was shot dead on the steps of his Miami home five years ago.

Not surprisingly, for a man who made it his business to dress the most glamorous people in the world, some unforgettable outfits have been included.
Visitors will recognise dresses worn by the Princess of Wales (a pale blue studded dress Diana wore on the cover of the magazine Harper's Bazaar), Madonna, Jennifer Lopez (the palm print-chiffon dress slashed to below the naval that caused gasps of shock at the Grammy Awards in 2000) and, of course, the little number worn by our Liz.

"I don't believe in good taste," Versace was once quoted as saying - a point the exhibition puts across in fabulous style.

Met by the pop of paparazzi flash bulbs at the entrance, visitors are taken though Versace's earlier designs to his last collection - all to a soundtrack by Elton John, George Michael and Madonna.

Also included in the V&A's show are designs by Versace's sister, Donatella.

Donatella and Santo, Versace's brother, will attend the exhibition this morning and a star-studded party tonight. The retrospective opens to the public on Thursday.