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News, articles and stories from the V&A

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Susanna Cordner

Exhibition Research Assistant on 'Undressed: A Brief History of Underwear', Furniture, Textiles and Fashion

I specialised in Fashion History on my Masters Degree and am fascinated by all things sartorial and the stories these pieces can tell. Before working on 'Undressed: A Brief History of Underwear' I worked on exhibitions such as 'Wedding Dresses 1775-2014' and 'Club to Catwalk: London Fashion in the 1980s'. I like to study the structures and systems at work in the production of clothing - and anything with a little too much sparkle.

A Chemise for Clean Comfort

In a meeting late last week, a colleague was talking about the importance of caring for your clothes, and loving and enjoying a garment for something other than its newness. In...

Filming Fifi

AV (= Audio Visual – so, this tends to mean film) material has become an expected feature in exhibition design. While we don’t want this material to distract from the objects...

Trying Out Tights

It’s been a very busy week full of developments in the design and text for the exhibition. Some of the team spent Thursday morning at the Clothworkers’ Centre at Blythe House....

Introducing the Textile Conservation and Mounting team

Hello from the Textile Conservation and Mounting team. If you followed the “Wedding Dress” and “Fabric of India” blogs then you will have met some of us before and you...

Welcome to the Undressed blog

Welcome to our blog for the V&A’s forthcoming exhibition Undressed: A Brief History of Underwear. As we reach the six month mark in the run up to the exhibition’s opening...

Textiles and Fashion

From Feathers to Fascinators: Part Three

Jenna Banat is a volunteer in the Furniture, Textiles and Fashion department here at the V&A. In the third in a series of three blog posts, Jenna is going to take a look at...

Textiles and Fashion

From Feathers to Fascinators: Part Two

Jenna Banat is a volunteer in the Furniture, Textiles and Fashion department here at the V&A. In the second in a series of three blog posts, Jenna is going to take a look at...

Textiles and Fashion

From feathers to fascinators: Hat inspiration for the Ascot Races by Jenna Banat

Jenna Banat is a volunteer in the Furniture, Textiles and Fashion department here at the V&A. In a series of three blog posts, Jenna is going to take a look at some examples...

Here Come the Brides

Waving Off the Brides and Grooms

As the idea of a wedding dress exhibition at the V&A was first proposed ten years ago, before its development, tour and ten months on display at the V&A, it feels like the...

Textiles and Fashion

Start as you mean to go on

While I was studying for my MA, I used to use research trips to London as an excuse to head to the V&A. In particular, since I obviously always ended up in the Fashion...

Here Come the Brides

A Romantic Frame of Mind

As well as placing the bride in a slight state of mystery for her groom as the ceremony commences, a wedding veil flatters and frames the woman’s face. As in all aspects of...

Textiles and Fashion

Hunting for Treasure

Acting as a link between our stores and galleries, the North Court Store has served as a temporary home to many objects as they enter our Textiles and Fashion collection or are at...

Here Come the Brides

Hitting the Sales

As January now seems forever associated with the sales, this month’s post will explore the history of purchasing wedding dresses from the late eighteenth century to the present...

Here Come the Brides

A Boxing Day Wedding

We all need a little glitter come the festive season, and brides are no exception to this rule. As previously explored, winter weddings – preferably made white with snow –...

Here Come the Brides

Friends of the Couple

While we are honoured to have the wedding dresses of celebrities on display, we were equally touched to be loaned and trusted with pieces worn by those who are, perhaps, less well...

Textiles and Fashion

Bohemian Wrapsody

A very special guest will be on her way to the V&A next week. On Thursday 6th November, Diane von Furstenberg is paying us a visit to talk about her ongoing career of over...

Here Come the Brides

Ralph & Russo: Let the Glamour Begin

Weddings and fashion shows have something key in common. When attending either, guests wait in excited anticipation for a grand entrance, and a first sighting of The Dress. On...

Here Come the Brides

How to Warm a Wedding

As the nights draw in, so too do the clothes we wear, as we swap loose sun dresses for wraps and jumpers. This change in style transfers inevitably into bridal wear – although...

Here Come the Brides

Isobel the Matchmaker

Sometimes, through a lack of lasting materials or personal accounts, a great designer can be lost to fashion history. Through drawing together the remaining pieces, memories,...

Here Come the Brides

A Georgian Romance

If you have ever watched a Jane Austen period drama, the style of the white muslin wedding dress worn by Mary Dalton Norcliffe in 1807 will appear as something of a familiar...

Here Come the Brides

Save the Dates

As I am moving on to work on another project at the museum, my posts in this blog will now be released on a monthly basis. To keep things tidy, the posts will be...

Here Come the Brides

For the Type Who Might Not Tweet

As I mentioned in my previous post, on the 6th August I took over the V&A’s twitter account for an hour and answered questions that were tweeted in. Once again, you came...

Here Come the Brides

#AskTheCurator

If you’re a Twitter-er, you might have spotted already that at 2pm on Wednesday 6th August I will be doing a Q&A on the V&A’s account. So, if you have any...

Here Come the Brides

A Dress with a View

Wedding dresses are designed with a particular ceremony and site in mind. Beyond the symbolic and ceremonial associations incorporated in its design, such a dress is also created...

Here Come the Brides

My Own Dear Lace

129 years ago today, Princess Beatrice, the beloved daughter of Queen Victoria, married Prince Henry of Battenberg. Princess Beatrice was the youngest of Victoria and Albert’s...

Here Come the Brides

In a State of Undress

While Victorian values have left white wedding dresses with associations of purity, some modern brides choose designs which celebrate their physicality instead. When Gwen Stefani...

Here Come the Brides

The One About the Red Wedding Dress

If you have somehow got away with not hearing the one about the red wedding dress yet, please give my interview with the Decorators a listen. listen to ‘V&A RadioTour #3:...

Here Come the Brides

Queen Victoria and the White Wedding Dress

This blog post focuses on your questions about the connections between Queen Victoria’s wedding and the popularity of the white wedding dress: Cassidy: I have two questions!...

Here Come the Brides

Gentlemen Prefer Groomswear

This blog post focuses on your questions which concerned gender relations in the history of wedding dresses: Edwin Coomasaru: Hey, I’m really looking forward to the Q&A....

Here Come the Brides

The Classic and the Quirky

This blog post focuses on your questions about breaks from tradition in the exhibition and my own personal response to them: Samuel Bernard: How do you feel the truly avant...

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