Marie Antoinette Style
Shaped by the most fashionable queen in history
Shaped by the most fashionable queen in history
A complex fashion icon, Marie Antoinette's timeless appeal is defined by her style, youth and notoriety. Explore the lasting influence of the most fashionable (and ill-fated) queen in history – with over 250 years of design, fashion, film and art.
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Exhibition highlights
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Marie Antoinette, Queen of France, oil painting, by François Hubert Drouais, 1773, Versailles, France -
Armchair, Jean-Baptiste-Claude Sené, almost certainly part of a suite made for Queen Marie-Antoinette's cabinet de toilette at the Palace of Saint-Cloud, Paris, 1788 -
Crystal flask with label ‘Eau de Cologne from the 'Nécessaire de voyage’, belonging to Marie Antoinette -
Slipper belonging to Marie Antoinette, beaded pink silk -
Dress, 'Robe de Style', Jeanne Lanvin, 1922 – 23, Paris, France -
Antonietta, 2005, by Manolo Blahnik -
Bracelet clasps, unknown maker, about 1770, France, gold with brilliant cut diamonds -
The Sutherland Diamonds, necklace, unknown maker -
Kate Moss, Fashion: Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen, Van Cleef & Arpels, and Julian d'Ys, The Ritz, Paris, 2012, for Vogue US, April 2012 issue -
Portrait of Marie Antoinette, Painters of the cabinet of the King after Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun
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About the Marie Antoinette Style exhibition
About the Marie Antoinette Style exhibition
Discover more about the exhibition Marie Antoinette Style
The Tiger and the Queen: a bust of Marie Antoinette from the court of Tipu Sultan
The Tiger and the Queen: a bust of Marie Antoinette from the court of Tipu Sultan
Find out how a bust of the queen was looted from an Indian palace and found its way into the V&A’s collection
The necklace that ruined Marie Antoinette? Unboxing the Sutherland Diamonds
The necklace that ruined Marie Antoinette? Unboxing the Sutherland Diamonds
Marie Antoinette conservation: revealing the controversial queen's portrait
Marie Antoinette conservation: revealing the controversial queen's portrait
See the work close-up
Conserving a fragile 200-year-old fan from the era of Marie Antoinette
Conserving a fragile 200-year-old fan from the era of Marie Antoinette
Join Senior Paper Conservator Susan Catcher as she conserves a fragile 200-year-old fan from the era of Marie Antoinette.
The conservation of Marie Antoinette's chair
The conservation of Marie Antoinette's chair
Follow our Conservation team on their fascinating journey to restore an 18th-century chair made specially for Marie Antoinette
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Marie Antoinette Style
Header image:
Mercy Artois shoe. Designed for Marie Antoinette, 2006 (dir. Sofia Coppola). Manolo Blahnik, London, 2005 © Manolo Blahnik International Limited