V&A Dundee launches public call-out with Alan Cumming Traitors look
- Alan Cumming submits an iconic look from The Traitors to launch a public call-out for objects to go in V&A Dundee
- The museum is redesigning its Scottish Design Galleries and visitor experience to mark its tenth birthday in 2028
- Members of the public are invited to be part of telling a new story of Scottish design
- Gibson Thornley and Studio MUTT have been appointed to lead the redesign, which will expand the Scottish galleries and improve the visitor welcome
- The redesign is supported by £2.6 million of UK Government funding and additional private fundraising
V&A Dundee is launching a call-out for members of the public to submit their treasured items from their own homes to go on display in the museum’s reimagined Scottish Design Galleries from 2028.
The museum wants people’s stories to be at the heart of the redesigned galleries, celebrating Scotland as a country that has been creating, designing and making for thousands of years. V&A Dundee will look at Scottish design from the past, present and future, exploring iconic and surprising objects, including those whose meaning and value has changed over time.
The museum welcomes all objects that make you think of Scotland and what it means to be Scottish. This will allow the museum to enrich, broaden and diversify the stories it is telling through a people’s collection. Connections to Scotland could, for example, include being designed, made, owned or bought in Scotland, or brought here by people who have made Scotland their home.
The call-out is being led by Alan Cumming who has submitted the first object, a stunning look from the global hit television show The Traitors.
Alan Cumming picked a tartan ensemble from The Traitors US season four that was created by Scottish designer Siobhan Mackenzie in collaboration with costume designer Sam Spector. It features a tartan chest plate impaled through the heart by a crystal sgian dubh knife and surrounded by a red crystal ‘wound’, a matching tartan kilt, a sweeping metallic red silk chiffon plaid, and a coordinating look for Alan’s canine co-star Lala that will also go in display in the museum in 2028.
Submissions of objects to go in the new Scottish Design Galleries can be made by sending an image of the item, explaining why it’s important to you and its connection to Scotland, to myobject@vandadundee.org by 31 August 2026.
Alan Cumming said: “I love this Siobhan Mackenzie look so much because it’s got all these things I love about Scotland in it: tradition, daring, romanticism, camp and theatricality all rolled into one.
“V&A Dundee, to me, stands for Scottish excellence in design and the arts. I think what we’re really good at in Scotland is staying in touch with our tradition but also looking to the future and being progressive in terms of what we see as our Scottishness in the now.
“It’s lovely to be part of a celebration of Scottish excellence and also, of course, my dog Lala’s outfit being in the galleries too is just the icing on the cake.
“So everybody, what would you like to see at V&A Dundee? What Scottish design object would you like to see displayed there and why? We really, really want to hear from you – it’s your museum, after all – and what you’d like to see represented from the world of Scottish design.”
V&A Dundee is asking for objects of all sizes and stories that could be precious or used every day, handmade or from a factory production line. No object or story is too small or too big to be submitted, as the museum wants to capture a wide view of what matters to people living in Scotland, from Scotland or who feel affinity with Scotland.
Small family keepsakes, personal souvenirs and mementoes are as welcome as larger items like much-loved pieces of clothing or even furniture, bikes and vehicles. People are invited to look under beds, in attics and in cupboards for personally meaningful objects that could include CDs, ceramics, football scarves, metalwork, tapestries, plastic, rugs, glassware, fashion, photographs, printed material and much more.
The museum wants to know how the object reflects you, your life, home or community through the stories it tells or memories it holds.
This new public call-out builds on the success of previous V&A Dundee campaigns to feature people’s objects and stories, including for the 2023 blockbuster Tartan exhibition which saw submissions ranging from Bay City Rollers fan clothing to a Hillman Imp car and a kilt from Sir Billy Connolly.
The final objects to go on display when the redesigned galleries open in 2028 will be co-curated by a community panel and V&A Dundee. The selected items will show hundreds of thousands of museum visitors every year that designed objects are all around us, and that everyone collects items that hold meaning and tell the stories of our lives.
Leonie Bell, Director of V&A Dundee, said: “We want to hear from you! V&A Dundee is Scotland’s design museum and we want to share many different stories of Scotland that are told through the objects we hold dear.
“From the most cherished keepsakes to the fashion of your rebellious youth, we want to represent what Scotland means to you through the objects that you have collected through your lives. How does the object make you feel? What memories does it bring back or what wishes does it hold for the future? Does the item reflect your personal or a collective identity?
“We want to open up the range of design on display, so that all our visitors can enjoy a wider, more inspiring look into the many different communities and people that make Scotland so diverse, vibrant and creative.”
The UK Government is supporting V&A Dundee’s redesign with £2.6 million of capital funding which will be enhanced by additional private fundraising.
The project to redesign the museum’s permanent Scottish Design Galleries will be led by Gibson Thornley and Studio MUTT following a tender process run in partnership with RIAS Consultancy that received 33 submissions. They will now work with V&A Dundee to develop the new vision for the how the museum engages visitors with historic and contemporary Scottish design creativity.
The project also aims to show visitors more from the moment they walk into the museum, giving a warmer, more welcoming and more exciting experience. This is intended to include more display space at the museum’s entrance and the ground floor Locke Hall, in direct response to visitor feedback.
Matt Thornley from Gibson Thornley said: "We are really honoured to have been selected for the project to redesign V&A Dundee’s Scottish Design Galleries and its public welcome spaces. It is an exciting opportunity to further develop this iconic building, strengthening its relationship to the city and the wider country, showcasing the diversity and impact of Scottish design."
The Scottish Design Galleries are the heart of V&A Dundee. They currently feature more than 300 objects spanning around 500 years, telling the story of Scottish design’s enduring influence around the world. This redevelopment will help V&A Dundee boost its contribution to local economic growth, supporting jobs and driving visitors to Tayside.
Since opening in September 2018, V&A Dundee has welcomed over 2.6 million visitors and helped boost tourism to Dundee by 61% to 1.4 million annual visits.
The winning proposal for the design team tender was a collaboration between Gibson Thornley and Studio MUTT. Four other proposals were shortlisted: Denizen Works A team led by Moxon Architects Page\Park, Andrea Hickey and Fieldwork Facility, with Arup, Studio ZNA, Street Films and DJW West Port Submissions of personal objects to be included in the new Scottish Design Galleries can be made by email to myobject@vandadundee.org until 31 August 2026.
For an opportunity to be included in the galleries, the museum ideally requires each object to be in presentable condition with information on where it was acquired, understand its relationship to you, and to have a good knowledge of the item’s history.