Fashion review: Ballgowns: British Glamour since 1950
From 19 May 2012 to 6 January 2013
Victoria and Albert Museum
Cromwell Road, London SW7 2RL
Victoria and Albert Museum map
Review by: Alexa Williamson
Rating: ***** (out of 5)
Glamour, elegance and beauty. Bringing together the work of 56 designers, this is an exhibit with a wow factor of 11 on a scale of 1 to 10. If you are looking to see some of the most famous dresses of the 20th century (and beyond) by various British designers, then look no further.
After seeing posters for this on the Tube, I was very excited to go and see it. And fortunately, the posters are only a small and beautiful teaser for a stunning collection of British ballgowns.
Housed within purpose built rooms (created for this exhibition), this is a beautiful show of various famous dresses, that have been created since 1950. Some of the designers on show include: Stella McCartney, Alexander McQueen, Catherine Walker, Bruce Oldfield, Matthew Williamson and Vivienne Westwood.
The dresses on show are all elegant. Some have been made for “Royal” occassions, but when they haven’t, there have been many for either “red carpet” events (which tend to be film premieres or charity events). The host of dresses are all dreamy and beautiful in a myriad of colours, patterns, and fabrics – the fabrics including silk, satin, taffetta, organza, tulle, velvet and more.
Some of my favourite dresses, and also those that have been very famous to the point where someone can say, “Remember that?” and you reply, “Oh yes, of course”… include…
1989 – Catherine Walker’s white pearled, white silk dress for Princess Diana on her official visit to Hong Kong.
1999 – Elizabeth Emanuel’s (also the fashion designer who created Princess Diana’s wedding dress – for her marriage to Prince Charles in 1981) lavishly flowered ball gown for Elizabeth Hurley, which was worn by her in 1999 for an Estee Lauder perfume advert.
plus the following were just truly memorable and captivating…
Vivienne Westwood’s 1994 white satin and tulle dress for Lady Bianca Job-Tyrone for Queen Charlotte’s birthday – inspired by 18th century rococo designs.
Victor Edelstein’s 1986 black and red silk dress for Anne Heseltine. It is indeed very 1980s as it is a big, flouncy, piece, but the big black and red bow on the back of the dress is great!
Other designers’ work that I found inspiring were Cindy Beadman, Tomas Starzewski, Nicholas Oakwell, Marchesa (a very memorable tafetta dress!), Felicity Brown, Stella McCartney, Anouska Hempel, Victor Steibel and Norman Hartnell.
Besides all of the georgeous gowns, the layout of the exhibit is also very pretty. The pseudo-chandeliers and other accoutrements and design, done in white, are great – and, there are also old fashion film reels that one can sit down and watch.
The V & A thought out this exhibit very well. It is truly beautiful to behold and as one steps in and out of the exhibit, they also get to see some amazing 17th-19th century fashions as well.
This is a lovely afternoon or evening outing not only to see some lovely pieces of fashion as art, but also to experience and learn about where these beautiful dresses were worn and why.
Further information:
Victoria and Albert Museum (official site)
The London Reviewer 