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TEXTILES

Textile Collections Services

Visiting the Textile Stores

Making a Booking

Items from the Textile collection not on display are held in our storerooms. For access to objects in store, you need to make an appointment by post or email in advance. We regret that we can not give access to the Textile storerooms at short notice, without an appointment. When requesting an appointment, please be specific about the objects or types of object you wish to consult giving reasons why you need to see these particular pieces.

Appointments last up to two hours and are available at 10:30 and 14.30. Such is the demand to see the collections in store that appointments are always booked at least 2 months in advance. To avoid disappointment please request appointments at least three months before the date required. At certain times, particular storerooms have to be closed for display preparations and appointments for certain areas of the collection are therefore not available.

If you have made an appointment you will be sent a confirmation postcard. Please respond within 14 days. For V&A records and to help the Section make the necessary arrangements, please ensure that the specific nature of your study is noted in your correspondence. If you cannot keep an appointment, please inform the office as soon as possible, so that we can offer your space to other visitors. If we have not received your confirmation within two weeks, the appointment will be offered to another applicant.

For reasons of space, security and visitor comfort it is not possible to accommodate large groups in the Textile storerooms. The stores vary in size. The smallest will accommodate 6 people and the largest 15 people.

The Textile Section closes for an annual audit, usually in August.  No appointments are available during this period (public displays are not affected).

Showing Textiles

Textiles are shown laid flat. Some objects are too frail or bulky to be removed safely from their storage units. In such cases they can be viewed in situ, e.g. patchwork quilts are shown folded in drawers (central panel and section of border uppermost). The supervising curator reserves the right to make final access decisions during an appointment.

Showing Carpets

A large part of the carpet collection is stored on swinging arms in Room 97 and may be seen by making an appointment. Please note that the arms are heavy and difficult to manipulate.

Storeroom Regulations

For security reasons, the following rules must be followed when visiting the stores:

  • All visitors must write their name and address clearly in the register.
  • Photography is permitted only for private study purposes; photographs taken of V&A objects must not be published. The use of flash is permitted.  For commercial research and support for professional use of the collection, contact V&A Images. Telephone: +44 (0)20 7942 2966  or e-mail vanda.images@vam.ac.uk
  • Cases and bags, apart from handbags, must not be brought into the stores - please leave all other items in the V&A's cloakrooms.
  • Smoking, eating, drinking (including bottled water) and the chewing of gum are not permitted anywhere in the Textile and Fashion storerooms.
  • During appointments, supervising members of staff will make the objects available but do not give specialist instruction about them.
  • Visitors must not use the ladders in the Textile and Fashion storerooms.
  • Visitors are reminded to bring all necessary working materials with them. To safeguard the collections only pencils may be used during an appointment for making notes and sketches. No other substances or equipment (such as ink, felt tipped pens, water, paints or auxiliary lights etc) are permitted.
  • Textiles and items of dress are, by their nature, vulnerable and require careful handling by members of staff only. Please observe the strict rule that visitors are not permitted to touch or handle any of the objects. Please ask the supervising curator if you wish to see the back of a textile or a detail of a garment (see below).
  • We reserve the right of admission to the Textiles and Fashion storerooms.

Buying Images

For information on how to buy images of V&A objects, please see the Buying Images  webpage.

Enquiries

As well as offering an Opinions Service , the Textiles section deals with enquiries about the collections, and textile and fashion history in general. It helps us provide a better answer if you write, fax or email us, rather than telephoning. When enquiring about a specific object, please send a photograph if possible.

Other Departments Holding Fashion or Related Items

Please direct enquiries to the relevant departments:

  • Far Eastern, Middle Eastern, Indian and South East Asian textiles and dress are part of the Asian Department. Telephone: +44 (0)20 7942 2322
  • The Museum of Childhood in Bethnal Green has the national collection of children's clothes, baby clothes and dolls. The majority of items date from between the 18th and 20th centuries.  Telephone: +44 (0)20 8983 5200
  • Designs for fashion and textiles, fashion plates and fashion photographs are part of the Prints, Drawings and Paintings Section of the Word and Image Department. Telephone: +44 (0)20 7942 2563
  • Literature (books, catalogues, periodicals etc) on textile and fashion can be seen in the National Art Library (reference only) in the V&A.
  • Archives (manuscripts, designs, unpublished materials) which relate to textile and dress are part of the V&A's Archive of Art and Design , based at Blythe House. Access is by appointment only.

Furniture, Textiles and Fashion Department
Victoria & Albert Museum
Cromwell Road
London  SW7 2RL
Tel: +44 (0)20 7942 2682
Fax: +44 (0)20 7942 2678
E-mail: textilesandfashion@vam.ac.uk