A FASHIONISTA'S FESTIVE HOLIDAY(c) By Polly Guerin

While dashing around town Fastionistas take time to pay homage to the great designers, view a virtual tour and scan the windows for the sheer magic of the season. It’s the Best of New York my friends, the very best in New York City, the fashion capital of the world. Here’s the scoop!!!
THE GREAT DESIGNERS, PART ONE The Museum at FIT presents the first of two consecutive exhibitions featuring masterpieces from the museum’s permanent collection of more than 50,000 garments and accessories. From Alaia, Balenciaga, Chanel, and Dior to Westwood, Yeohlee, Zoran and Xuly-Bet the exhibition recently opened, pictured here, features approximately 50 garment from many of the most important designers of the 20th and 21st centuries. New acquisitions include the late Alexander McQueen’s elaborately embroidered black silk coatdress and Tierry Mugler’s fantastical metallic bustier and fishtail skirt and enjoy a closer look at Mariano Fortuny’s exquisite, embossed velvet dress. Through May 8, 2012. FREE at MFIT, Seventh Ave. at 27th St. www.fitnyc.edu/museum. Mark your calendars The Great Designers, Part Two will be on display May 23 through Nov. 10, 2012.
VALENTINO’S MODERN FASHION MUSEUM celebrates with a virtual museum, the Valentino Garavani Virtual Museum, a downloadable desktop application the first of its kind from a designer of Valentino’s caliber. The site focuses on 50 years of Valentino’s work in three-dimensional technology that makes the experience seem almost like a real museum visit replete with natural Roman sunlight, video interviews with some 300 dresses and iconic images of everyone from Jacqueline Kennedy wearing Valentino when she married Aristotle Onassis to Julia Roberts accepting her Oscar wearing a vintage gown by the Rome designer. In this pi0neering move Valentino wanted everyone around the world, and in particular students, to have access to his best designs, even if he himself isn’t a tech-savvy designer. Discussions are still underway to establish a brick-and-mortar Valentino museum in Rome.
JOAQUIN SOROLLA and THE GLORY OF SPANISH DRESS The Queen Sofia Spanish Institute on Park Avenue with curator Oscar de la Renta who got the idea for the show from “Vision of Spain,” the Sorolla mural commissioned in 1911. Sorolla had spent years traveling through Spain to chronicle the native dress, some of which he purchased, amassing a sizable collection and many of the pieces shown come from his archives. Oscar shows some Sorolla works alongside the clothes that inspired them and in turn modern fashion. Among other designers represented: YSL’s Stefano Pilati, Ralph Lauren and Carolina Herrera and a remarkable 2009 couture wecding extravaganza from Christian Lacroix with flamenco references.
THE QUEEN OF JEWELS Elizabeth Taylor’s jewelry goes on the block at Christie’s tomorrow with the storied La Peregrina pearl necklace, which is estimated to fetch $2 million to $3 million at auction decidedly the showstopper. When Richard Burton bought it at auction in New York for Elizabeth Taylor he paid $37,000. To put it mildly it will be interesting to see who the next owner of the most fabled of natural pearls turns out to be. On view today. Christie’s on 49th Street. www.christie.org.
Ta Ta darlings!!! Polly’s going to see The Great Designers, Part One, you should too. Fan mail welcome: pollytalk@verizon.net. Visit Polly’s Blogs at www.pollytalk.com and click in the right-hand column the link to her Blogs.