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Grace Kelly came from humble beginnings, born to a construction company owner and a phys ed professor, to be one of the world’s most recognized and celebrated women of the 20^th century. Taking to acting at a young age and attending the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York, her obvious class, style and talent swiftly took her from stage to screen. Despite only making 11 movies, she worked with the best of the time: actors Clark Gable, James Stewart and Bing Crosby, and directors John Ford and Alfred Hitchcock. Her collaborations with these artists resulted in a number of celebrated films, such as Dial M for Murder, Mogambo, Rear Window, To Catch a Thief, High Society and The Country Girl, the film for which she won an Oscar. In 1956, she married Prince Rainer III of Monaco, becoming the first actress to be not only Hollywood, but actual royalty.

Thus began the world’s fascination with Grace Kelly. Her life, her style and her loves put on display and followed with rapt attention by the public. While Grace Kelly’s persona of simple elegance and gentle beauty was what captured onlookers, it was her style that made her an icon. In celebration of this facet of Kelly’s influence, TIFF has curated an exhibition that examines her clothing and personal style.

Adding to the personal nature of this exhibition, also on display are letters, home movies and memorabilia from the life of this icon to illustrate that Kelly was a picture of not only outer, but inner grace as well.

During its first year, TIFF Bell Lightbox used its exhibition space to examine cinema as a whole with Essential Cinema, the relationship of sculpture and drawing to filmmaking with a look at the world of Tim Burton, and an examination of the history of photography with Fellini: Spectacular Obsessions. Now with Grace Kelly: From Movie Star to Princess, TIFF turns its focus to the intimate relationship between film and fashion. Artistic Director Noah Cowan explains, “Grace Kelly we felt was the perfect next show because we were able to talk about fashion, talk about style and how film has been absolutely intertwined with those fields since its inception. And there is no better guide through that relationship than Grace Kelly herself; fascinated by clothes, but also such a strong personality in cinema, in life and kind of an amazing goddess to many of us.”

Tracking both her life and her fashion evolution from her early years in modeling to her older years as princess and mother, the exhibition is a gentle guide through the intricacies that make a style icon. Everything from her formal wear (elaborate gowns and her tiara) to her everyday wear (the Mondrian) to the finishing touches (the Hermes bag, jeweled brooches, hats and sunglasses) serves as recognition that fashion is an outward reflection of rich inner style.

Rich inner life and style is something that Kelly had in spades. To truly understand iconic style, it is fundamental to understand the person wearing it. In this respect, TIFF has enlightened the visitor in an equally gentle way. Telegrams from supportive family and friends, humourous letters from Alfred Hitchcock and, ultimately, home movies Kelly shot herself (on a camera given to her by Hitchcock himself), shed light on the life of a beautiful, intelligent, kind woman who deserved every moment of the praise and attention the world lavished on her.

“Grace Kelly: From Movie Star to Princess really wants to ask to question, ‘Why do we love her?’” says Cowan. “[The exhibition acknowledges] the fact that people’s relationship with Grace Kelly is a very personal one, and a very empathetic one. [Women of a certain age] have a very connected relationship to Grace Kelly even though they’re not princesses, even though they’re not movie stars, even though they weren’t the most famous bride’s of the Twentieth Century. Because there’s something about her, about the way that she lived her life and the way that she carried herself, which was how every woman would have liked to have seen themselves at certain points in our recent history. And to this day her timelessness, her elegance, doesn’t only speak to a time past but also speaks to a longing for now, for that kind of media personality. So I think our exhibition actually is in some ways a call for someone to step into Grace’s shoes and be that wonderful icon that can inspire women, men, film lovers, fashions lovers for generations to come.”

With this mandate in mind, it would seem that TIFF has achieved at every possible level. The exhibition has been artfully, classically arranged to evoke another time. For those who are unfamiliar with Kelly’s life and work, it’s like meeting someone for the first time and knowing immediately that you are kindred, and you’ll leave eager to find out more about her. For those familiar with Kelly’s life, it will be like having a long-overdue tea with an old friend; uncovering intimate moments you can share and remembering times past. It is an exquisite exhibition that is a testament to Grace Kelly’s legacy that, like all of TIFF’s exhibitions, must not be missed.

Photography courtesy of Christina Woerns Photography. See all our pictures of the exhibition here.