Victoria and Albert news and archive

V&A opens Kimono fashion exhibition

The V&A Museum in London is placing a spotlight on Japan’s most famous fashion garment, the Kimono with its latest fashion exhibition. Entitled ‘Kimono: Kyoto to Catwalk’, the exhibition marks Europe’s first major exhibit on the kimono, revealing the sartorial and social significance of kimono from the 1660s to the present day, both in Japan and...

Fashion Featured

V&A to stage free fashion careers event

The V&A is partnering with the Stratford Circus Arts Centre on a free event to inspire the next generation of fashion talent in the lead up to V&A East, which is set to open as part of East Bank, a new arts, education and innovation hub in Stratford’s Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in 2023. ‘Making It: Careers in Fashion and Costume’ will be a...

CultureFeatured

V&A announces bags exhibition for 2020

The V&A museum in London is to place a spotlight on bags with the UK’s most comprehensive exhibition dedicated to what it calls the “ultimate accessory” feature everything from designer handbags to despatch boxes, vanity cases and military rucksacks. Opening on April 25, 2020, ‘Bags: Inside Out’ will explore the longstanding fascination with the...

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Alice In Wonderland to be the focus of new V&A exhibition

London’s V&A has announced that its landmark exhibition for 2020 will be ‘Alice: Curiouser and Curiouser’ celebrating the fantastical and imaginative Alice In Wonderland story with more than 300 objects spanning film, performance, fashion, art, music and photography, including fashion from Iris van Herpen and Viktor and Rolf. Opening on June 27,...

CultureFeatured

V&A to stage Europe’s first major exhibition on the kimono

The V&A in London will bring together 17th-century Japanese garments, international haute couture and costumes from Star Wars in Europe’s first major exhibition on kimono fashion. The ultimate symbol of Japan, the kimono is often perceived as traditional, timeless and unchanging, the V&A is looking to counter this conception with a new...

Fashion

Guo Pei to present first-ever catwalk show in the UK

Chinese couturier Guo Pei, famous for designing Rihanna’s yellow gown worn at the 2015 Met Gala, is to present her first-ever catwalk show in the UK to celebrate the 20th anniversary of V&A’s ‘Fashion in Motion’ series. Pei, one of China’s most renowned designers, will showcase her autumn/winter 2019 ‘Alternate Universe’ couture collection...

CultureFeatured

Inside the Tim Walker: Wonderful Things exhibition

The V&A’s latest exhibition, ‘Tim Walker: Wonderful Things’ invites visitors into the fantastical imagination of one of the world’s most renowned photographers, featuring the largest exhibition of Walker’s pictures to date, celebrating his "extraordinary contribution” to image-making over the last 25 years and the inspirational role that the...

CultureFeatured

V&A Dior exhibition “most visited” in museum’s history

The Victoria and Albert (V&A) museum in London has set a new visitor record with its ‘Christian Dior: Designer of Dreams’ exhibition, surpassing the former record set by 2015’s ‘Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty’ by over 100,000 visitors. The most comprehensive exhibition ever staged in the UK on the House of Dior closed on September 1 and the...

Culture

V&A names Preen as next Fashion in Motion designer

Preen by Thornton Bregazzi will be the next featured designer label as part of London’s Victoria & Albert Museum’s Fashion in Motion series. Design duo Justin Thornton and Thea Bregazzi, who founded Preen by Thornton Bregazzi in 1996, will host four free-to-attend catwalk shows on June 21 featuring a collection of current and archival pieces...

Culture |IN PICTURES Featured

Mary Quant retrospective opens at V&A

The V&A museum in London opens the first international retrospective on the iconic British fashion designer Dame Mary Quant on April 6, with an exhibition bringing together more than 120 garments, accessories, sketches, photographs and Daisy dolls, including 35 objects received from the public from its national #WeWantQuant call-out. The ‘Mary...

CultureFeatured

V&A to stage largest Tim Walker exhibition

The V&A in London has announced it will display the largest-ever exhibition on fashion photographer Tim Walker featuring some of his seminal images from his 25-year career, featuring models including Edie Campbell, Lily Cole, Kate Moss, Karen Elson and Stella Tennant. The ‘Tim Walker: Wonderful Things’ exhibition will open in September and will...

Culture

Dior exhibition extended due to “unprecedented demand”

The V&A has confirmed that it will be extending its sell-out ‘Christian Dior: Designer of Dreams’ exhibition after tickets for the entire run sold out three weeks after opening. The Dior exhibition, which opened on February 2 was originally schedule to run until July 14, and now will be extended by seven weeks to Sunday, September 1. The London...