The first UK exhibition to explore the complex relationship between fashion and nature from 1600 to the present day.
This exhibition will present fashionable dress alongside natural history specimens, innovative new fabrics and dyeing processes, inviting visitors to think about the materials of fashion and the sources of their clothes.
EXHIBITION HIGHLIGHTS
Waistcoat, 1780 – 1789, France. Museum no. T.49-1948. © Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Mantua, 1760s, France. Museum no. T.252 to C-1959. © Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Evening coat, Alix (Madame Grès), 1936, France. Museum no. T.234-1976. © Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Trouser suit, Bruno Pieters for Honest By, 2017, Belgium. Museum no. T.1702:1&2-2017. © Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Muslin day dress decorated with beetle wing cases, 1868-9, Britain. Museum no. T.1698:1 to 5-2017. © Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Hat of suede and Himalayan monal pheasant (Lophophorus impejanus), Lucienne Rabaté for Reboux, 1946, France. Museum no. T.384-1974. © Victoria and Albert Museum, London
‘Clean Up or Die’ man’s ensemble, Katharine Hamnett, 1989, Britain. Ankle boots by Shellys. Museum no. T.208 to E-1990. © Victoria and Albert Museum, London
‘Rootbound # 2’ dress, Diana Scherer, 2017, Netherlands. © Diana Scherer
Skirt with train, about 1890, England. Museum no. T.35-1950. © Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Outfit made from leather off-cuts and surplus yarn, Katie Jones, 2017. Photograph by Rachel Mann
Jacket and trousers, John Malkovich, 2017, France. Shoes, Christian Louboutin, 2018, Italy. © Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Ensemble, Stella McCartney, Winter 2017. © Stella McCartney
Calvin Klein Green Carpet Challenge dress worn by Emma Watson to the MET Gala 2016. © Matt Baron/REX/ Shutterstock