Every time I visit the V&A... - part 3

...I do not tend to dress up. Having said that I would not walk in as if I have just woken up, of course. And this is how I attended the private view of 'Ballgowns: British Glamour Since 1950'. I walked in, after a day spent doing my usual duties in my usual wear, and felt so much out of place...

Was it because of the subject of this exhibition? Perhaps but I was surrounded by beautiful outfits, not just behind the glass, and so having worn my jeans, sweater and a bag hanging across my body simply did not feel right.

Spread over two floors of the newly renovated Fashion Galleries of the V&A, I found myself lost in a glamourous life of the high society of the '50s - '70s that later stretched to also a public domain in the '80s till present days.

What started as prestigious private balls accessible to only a few turned to charity balls open to all. Couture designers would design for from royalties to celebrities and their designs would be seen on the catwalk and the red carpet as well as charitable balls and magazine spreads. Indeed, fashion design and its portrayal has developed over the years as demonstrated at this exhibition.

And of course it would not be me if I would not buy a book that goes with this exhibition (right).

Two things caught my eye when flipping through this book; the photography so different from what I am used to in other similar publications and one particular design that also stood out for me at the exhibition.

To demonstrate what I mean I scanned the design for you to see...

...'Jersey evening dress with lacing and fringe' (2011) by Mark Fast.

The intrigue and complexity created by the lacing somehow appealed to me, perhaps because I often wonder when one draws a line between the 'raw' and the 'complete'. This dress looks unfinished till the moment you really examine the craftsmanship and realise the utter uniqueness and canny finish.

From photography point of view, I simply love the style David Hughes captured here. The entire book is in this style. Given by one particular rule - '...museum items are not permitted to be worn by models...', David Hughes reached for a mannequin as a model (an idea introduced years earlier in Irwing Penn's photo essay 'Inventive Paris Clothes'). It is not only each of the thirty-two garments, shown in the book, in which the mannequin is dressed but also the way David Hughes positioned his 'model' that gives life to the mannequin and the ballgowns.

Using black as a backdrop makes the viewer focus only on the photographed piece drawing the attention on the detail and colour of the ballgown. There is nothing else to distract the viewer from the pages apart from the headpieces for the mannequin designed by set designer Vincent Olivieri. Designed on the day of the photo shoot from second-hand books, these respond to the style of each garment.

Despite the fact that I was slightly under-dressed for the occasion, I am glad I came to the private view of this exhibition. Seeing dressed up people always cheers me up. On top of that, I have a wonderful book that could become a collector's item in years to come, a book from which I can draw inspiration for my own work (that I have postponed/abandoned recently). On this note, I will leave you till next time. Have a great week. Kx