A Christian Dior shoe from the 1950s
The fashion exhibit at the V&A shows various styles through the ages, but focuses primarily on the 20th century when fashion and style became more affordable to the general public. Designers featured in this exhibit range from Coco Chanel, Alexander McQueen, Karl Lagerfeld (has both Lagerfeld and Chanel pieces), Calvin Klein and more.
Suit from the 1970s….not exactly fashion’s best decade
One of the most interesting pieces is a suit from the 1970s, which in my opinion, looks more like an area rug. Of course,the 1970s wasn’t exactly a good period for clothing. I also found it interesting that there weren’t too many historical pieces – most were from the last 20 or so years. As I am very interested in early to mid 20th century clothing, it would have been great to be able to see more, especially clothes from the jazz era and the early 1960s. Interesting, since the museum’s focus is on “progressive and influential design from major centres in Europe.” You’d think that there’d be more pieces from the 1920s.
One thing that I wanted to get into but wasn’t able was the Grace Kelly exhibit. They only sold a limited number of tickets each day, and unfortunately, by the time we got to the museum, the tickets were sold out. I guess we should have purchased them way in advance! The entire exhibit focused on clothes she wore in her movies as well as the dress she wore when she accepted her Academy Award in 1955 as well as when she became the Princess of Monaco.
In addition to a room for fashion, the V&A also has an extensive jewellery and accessories collections focusing on various items through the centuries. Past temporary fashion-related exhibits include fashion from the 1960s, Kylie Minogue as a style icon as well as “The Golden Age of Couture” which focused on London and Parisian style between 1947 and 1957. According to the V&A website, there will be an exhibit focusing on bridal in 2013. They are actually accepting pictures of people in their wedding clothes, which can be uploaded on their site!
