Italian haute couture house Curiel shows its four-generation history with the exhibition Curiel－History and Future at Milan Fashion Week in September. [Photo provided to China Daily]

It is hard to find a family brand with more than 100 years of history, and even harder to put that history into a four-hour exhibition.

Curiel, an Italian haute couture house, recently show-cased its four-generation history with an exhibition, Curiel－History and Future, at Milan Fashion Week.

Based on the theme "knowing what has been to discover what will be", the exhibition traces the history of the brand and sheds light on its future.

The exhibition took visitors back to the 1950s and '60s, when Curiel couture dresses were a fixture at La Scala's premieres and other Italian high society gatherings.

The "Art" space highlights works inspired by artists like Jim Dine, Picasso and Klimt, while the "Exoticism" section presents dresses influenced by Asia and Africa.

The "Curiellino" part reinterprets the brand's classic black dresses in a more contemporary way.

The exhibition is not just about one brand, but a show-case of the history of fashion in Italy, says Giuseppe Silvestrin, director of the exhibition and veteran fashion event organizer.