LONDON: The grace and glamour of Italian fashion are on display in London — and the attitude, too.

Designers Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana were guests at Tuesday night's launch of “The Glamour of Italian Fashion,” a new exhibition at the Victoria & Albert Museum.

The duo behind Dolce & Gabbana praised Britain's “cool” style and designers like Vivienne Westwood, but were less enthusiastic about Victoria Beckham. Gabbana said the former Spice Girl had turned to fashion after doing “many, many, many different things”.

He added “she's a designer but ... for us, she don't make (clothes) the same way like a fashion designer”.

Dolce grouped Beckham, whose designs have appeared on catwalks at New York Fashion week, with mainstream retailers such as Zara and H&M.

The museum's exhibition, which opens on Saturday, traces the global rise of Italian style, from the rebuilding of a shattered economy after World War II through the 1950s and '60s, when stars including Elizabeth Taylor and Audrey Hepburn made Italian design synonymous with sophistication.