FASHION & ART EVENTS - LONDON

By Eva Fydrych

WHATS ON AT THE V&A IN JANUARY 2012

Glass, amber and silver necklace (Possibly Zanzibar) Photo courtesy of V&A

EXHIBITION  LAST CHANCE TO SEE!

HOLLYWOOD COSTUME

Sponsored by Harry Winston

20 OCTOBER 2012  27 JANUARY 2013

Hollywood Costume gathers together over one hundred of the most iconic costumes designed for cinema characters over a century of film-making. For the first time, Hollywood Costume unites classics from the Golden Age including Dorothys blue and white gingham pinafore dress designed by Adrian featured in The Wizard of Oz (1939), Scarlett OHaras green curtain dress designed by Walter Plunkett for Gone with the Wind (1939) and the little black dress designed by Hubert De Givenchy for Holly Golightly in Breakfast at Tiffanys (1961), with the latest Hollywood releases including Consolata Boyles costumes for Meryl Streep in The Iron Lady (2011) and Lindy Hemmings Bat Suit for Christian Bale in The Dark Knight Rises (2012). Hollywood Costume will explore the art of costume design  from the glamorous to the very subtle  as an essential way of building character and storytelling. 

Titanic (20th Century Fox/Paramount/The Kobal Collection) Photo courtesy of V&A

EXHIBITION  LAST CHANCE TO SEE!

BALLGOWNS: BRITISH GLAMOUR SINCE 1950

Sponsored by Coutts

19 MAY 2012  6 JANUARY 2013

The first display to be held in the redesigned fashion gallery presents over 60 ballgowns created by British fashion designers over the last 60 years. The exhibition reflects how the ballgown has long been the garment of choice for formal events from private parties to the red carpet. There is a selection of royal ballgowns, including a Norman Hartnell gown designed for Elizabeth the Queen Mother and Princess Dianas Elvis Dress designed by Catherine Walker. Dresses worn by celebrities including Sandra Bullock, Daphne Guinness, Elizabeth Hurley, Bianca Jagger and Beyonc Knowles are also on display. The ground floor of the exhibition features designs from the 1950s to the early 2000s and on the mezzanine is a red carpet of gowns by contemporary labels such as Alexander McQueen, Giles, Erdem, Roksanda Illincic, Mark Fast, Jenny Packham and Gareth Pugh. Highly recommended

EXHIBITION
LIGHT FROM THE MIDDLE EAST: NEW PHOTOGRAPHY

13 NOVEMBER 2012  7 APRIL 2013

Light from theMiddle East: New Photography is the first major museum exhibition of contemporary photography from and about theMiddle East. Featuring more than 90 works by some of the most exciting artists from the region it will show the creative responses to the social challenges and political upheavals that have shaped theMiddle Eastover the past 20 years and include recent work made following the revolution inEgypt. The photographs will present multiple viewpoints of a region where collisions between personal, social, religious and political life can be emotive and complex.

This exhibition has been made possible by the establishment of the Art Fund Collection of Middle Eastern Photography at the V&A and the British Museum. FREE.

Saida in Green. Digital c-print and tyre frame, 65 x 55 cm (Hassan Hajjaj)

NEW PERMANENT FURNITURE GALLERY

THE DR SUSAN WEBER GALLERY

OPENED 1 DECEMBER 2012

The new gallery provides, for the first time, a dedicated home for the V&As internationally renowned furniture collection. The gallery, designed by NORD Architecture, displays more than 200 outstanding pieces of British and European furniture, dating from the Middle Ages to the present, as well as examples of American and Asian furniture. It tells the story of six centuries of furniture production through the way each piece was made and the people who made it and examines in detail the range of materials and techniques employed, from marquetry to digital fabrication.

Free, no booking required

NEW DISPLAY

V&A AFRICA: EXPLORING HIDDEN HISTORIES

15 NOVEMBER 2012  3 FEBRUARY 2013

This display of around 100 objects from the V&As collections looks at the V&As engagement with and changing view of art and design from Africa since the earliest days of the Museum to the present. This is the first of a series of displays to highlights the V&As significant holdings of art and design fromAfrica, and will show photographs, jewellery, textiles and sculptures, many of which are on display for the first time. Exploring Hidden Histories will reveal some of the stories which lie behind the acquisition of the V&As African objects, and is the result of a seven year Museum-wide research project, supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund with additional support from the Arts and Humanities Research Council for research into African textiles. Free, no booking required.

Woman's dress, Ethiopian (Photo courtesy of V&A)

FRIDAY LATE

FRIDAY LATE: RED CARPET

SPONSORED BY MASTERCARD

25 JANUARY 2013; 18.30-22.00

An evening celebrating everything Hollywood. Visitors are encouraged to dress up in their finest. There will be talks, workshops and a late bar. Free, no booking required.

EVENING TALK

JENNY BEAVAN: COSTUMES FOR THE SILVER SCREEN

18 JANUARY 2013; 19.00-20.45

Academy Award-winning costume designer Jenny Beavan will discuss her career working on some of Hollywoods greatest films, including Sherlock Holmes. 15 including wine reception.

SPECIAL EVENT

FREE SCREENINGS FROM THE V&AS NATIONAL VIDEO ARCHIVE OF PERFORMANCE

SUNDAYS IN JANUARY 2013; 14.00

A programme of free screenings of recordings of live performances inBritainranging from classic plays andWest Endhits to pantomimes, musicals and physical theatre. Screenings during January includeArcadiadirected by Trevor Nunn (Theatre Royal Haymarket, 1995), The Winters Tale directed by Sam Mendes (The Old Vic, 2009) and Hedda Gabler directed by Richard Eyre (Duke of Yorks Theatre, 2005). Free, drop-in.

Source: V&A

Fashion Gallery (6a architects) All photos courtesy of V&A

The V&A is open daily 10.00  17.45 and until 22.00 on Fridays.

The nearest underground: South Kensington (Piccadilly, District and Circle lines).

For general information call 020 7942 2000 or visit www.vam.ac.uk