An astonishing golden outfit made from the silk of spiders has gone on display at London’s Victoria and Albert Museum.

It took more than four years to make the four-metre-long hand-woven textile from the silk of 1.2million female golden orb spiders, native to Madagascar.

It was made by Englishman Simon Peers and American Nicholas Godley, both of whom have lived and worked in Madagascar for many years.

Hollywood actress Anne Hathaway has been announced as co-host for the launch of the Valentino Online Museum today.

Confirmed panelists for the press conference, due to be streamed live on Youtube, include Amit Sood and Italian Vogue editor in chief Franca Sozzani.

The Valentino Garavani Virtual Museum will feature more than 300 dresses worn by Hollywood stars such as Julia Roberts and Sophia Loren.

A virtual Valentino museum will launch December 5, providing an insight into the world of the Italian fashion house.

Created by Valentino Garavani, who retired from his eponymous fashion house in 2008, and business partner Giancarlo Giammetti, the online museum will focus on 50 years of the fashion house.

Thanks to 3D technology, The Valentino Garavani Virtual Museum will give users the sensation of attending a real museum, featuring more than 300 dresses worn by Hollywood stars of past and present such as Julia Roberts and Sophia Loren.

Italian fashion label Gucci inaugurated a museum in Florence Monday, showcasing the luggage and high-end clothing that have fueled the company’s success.

Located in the Palazzo della Mercanzia, the museum is only a few steps away from the 13th century Palazzo Vecchio and Michelangelo’s David.

The museum features an exhibit showing how their logo has evolved since Guccio Gucci, a former porter at the London’s Savoy hotel, founded the company in 1921.

After the John Galliano debacle, Christian Dior can use all the positive publicity it can get, and a new retrospective of its history at the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts sets out to bring back the fashion house’s magic.

Opening on April 28, the exhibit showcasing the brand’s 64-year history will not only present its collections over the years — designed by the founder itself as well as the likes of Yves Saint Laurent or Gianfranco Ferré — but also juxtapose them with works of art by Van Gogh or Klimt as well as photographs by Richard Avedon and Man Ray.

Pablo Picasso’s “Nu au Plateau de Sculpteur”, the world’s most expensive painting, was to go on display Monday for the first time at London’s Tate Modern museum.

The 1932 painting set a world record when it was snapped up by a mystery bidder for 106.5 million dollars at New York’s Christie’s auction house last May.

It will be the first time the painting has been displayed anywhere since 1961 and prompted the famous London museum to create a new Pablo Picasso room to house the loaned work.