Hey you lovely bunch of people!
I was in London for a few days earlier this week and was just strolling around after visiting the National History Museum and came across the Victoria & Albert Museum. The word 'fashion' really stood out to me and I just had to go in.
They had multiple exhibitions on, including wedding dresses (£8 entry) which I will be visiting in September, and a Italian Fashion exhibition (also payment to visit), however I stumbled across Room 40, which was free to visit and take photographs.
I decided quickly that this would be an amazing opportunity to broaden my horizons and explore how fashion has developed over the years.
You can see from the photographs how some styles that were around decades ago (here, you can see lace and spaghetti straps) are very apparent in fashion at the moment. I did also see some velvet which was very pleasing to the eye!
The underwear/swimwear and this suit struck my eye. The pointed bra type look was previously quite popular and would now be seen as 'weird' to some. I also love the mustard yellow colour of this two piece set, along with strong use of white. This is very 60's-70's put you can see from these images how fashion statements and trends re-appear.
As you can tell, these photos are not in chronological order, as I didn't have the bright idea to turn this into a post until I'd already started taking photos!
Here, you may be able to see from the image, that this type of clothing was due to strict regulations on clothing and looks very formal. I love the Gingham style suit jacket, and I would wear this now; thus making it increasingly apparent how fashion is redeveloped and almost recycled. The square shoulders are 'in response to Paris trends' which highlights how different countries can influence a design or structure to a piece.
The middle and right dresses are some of my absolute favourites from this exhibition. This also stems from the 'Paris' theme, looking at designers like "Christian Dior, Balenciaga and Givenchy" becoming more popular and available to buy. The Haute Couture element, being made by hand made makes the pieces even more desirable.
I adore the coral dress. You would see so many people wearing this now. It made me so aware that fashion is versatile; trends are what you make of them. Some structures to dresses, coats etc (like the navy piece) can be quite poignant to an era, which can repeat itself. Other materials may be used again and again, showing us how trends come and ago but some will never decease.
Here are some Christian Dior items that reflect how much detail is put into making one piece. I love the detail of these black and white images from the 1954 Vogue magazine.
These Dior pieces were made in France for Great Britain. I love the advertising fan, such a simple yet elegant way to advertise a brand.
These 1960's-1970's pieces are so gorgeous! As I said before, you can instantly tell with some pieces of clothing what era whey were derived from which makes some items so good. The straight cut dresses and bold prints scream rebellion and that's a lot what the 60's was about. This era was were people were deciding not to just buy their clothes from Paris and London, they were making their own and that's why these clothes really tell a story. White PVC boots (as shown) were very popular (not that I would consider wearing them any time soon) and for beauty lovers, this was the time when women started wearing more and more false eyelashes!
As the exhibition labelled this as 'Deconstructing' fashion, you can see how the previous 60's era influenced people to be more creating with what they wore and you didn't just have to wear straight cut clothing; layering is seen here and I love the nonchalant vibe.
Here you can see some Alexander McQueen pieces, which as the 'Knuckle Duster' bag which is to die for. I also love the Jean Paul Gaultier 'Evening Dress' which was made in Paris and also donated to the Victoria & Albert Museum anonymously, according to the exhibit!
These pieces are from 1999-2011. It is easy to see these are very modern pieces, like the Christian Dior statement necklace which will have influenced many high street brands to create more affordable statement necklaces for the majority of the population.
I hope you enjoyed some pictures from the Room 40 Exhibition! These images are all taken with permission (from being allowed to take photographs) and all images are rightly theirs if they so wish to use them (which they probably won't as the quality isn't amazing!)
If you're down in London it is definitely worth a visit as it is free to see and this is only a handful of images from the exhibition and it really opened my eyes to the details fashion designers put into their pieces; how trends can be shown through time and the extent to how we 'recycle' trends with a modern twist.
Love,
