Wedding Dresses at the V&A. Just back from a visit to London where I saw the 300 Years of Wedding Dresses Exhibition, spending 3 hours ooh-ing and ahh-ing over some of the most famous, infamous and gorgeous bridal gowns from around the world. I would’ve been in there longer, but got desperate for a cuppa! One exhibit I’d been looking forward to viewing, but which sadly failed to live up to my expectations, was the late Duchess of Argyll’s frock. As Margaret Wigham she was a celebrity debutante in the 30’s and the press followed her every move. Although Norman Hartnell designed the much-talked about dress for her first marriage to Charles Sweeney, I thought it was rather theatrical i.e. made for effect, with too much of everything; frothy flounce on the train and sleeves, Hartnell’s signature orange flower motifs moving down the bodice and onto the vast train, growing larger and larger as they did so and consequently appearing less and less delicate-looking, with disappointing embroidery. By contrast, Baba Beaton’s wedding dress from the following year was a model of elegance, almost medieval/monastic in its apparent simplicity. Made from fluid silk satin with long sleeves and high neck, cut on the bias to mould to the body with no fastenings at all, the back panels form a cowl at the hem which develops into a split train – very unusual and unique. Fortunately for us lovers of vintage style, there were plenty of other models to delight. I was very taken with a lovely wartime dress; bodice front gently gathered below a sweetheart neckline, the skirt pleated at the back waist to give a slight ‘bustle’ effect to the merest hint of a train (no doubt due to the limited amount of material) and made up from, unbelievably, a gorgeous lightweight upholstery fabric woven with lemon yellow buttercups on a grey ground! It demonstrated that wartime shortages and restrictions really were the mother of invention. The 18th Century, Regency and Victorian dresses were amazing in their details; wonderful lace, superb embroidery, silk tassels, fringe, hand-made buttons etc., and all, of course, with teeny tiny corseted waists. Lots to appreciate too from the 20th Century; ivory devoré velvet from the 20’s, Bardot-esque short and sassy from the early sixties and even covetable items from the 70’s – supposedly the decade that style forgot. I found some of the modern dresses a bit tacky (too much bling for my taste), albeit beautifully made, but loved Vivienne Westwood’s shot purple antebellum number for Dita von Teese; a marvel of clever cutting and draping. For dressmaking, embroidery and beading aficionados, the pièce de résistance was undoubtedly John Galliano’s 30’s style gown for Kate Moss. This ethereal creation in the subtlest, palest of peachy-cream colours was made from fine, soft tulle (with immaculate, miniscule seams) and hundreds of thousands of toning sequins and pearl beads picked out the graduated design of peacock feathers interspersed with floral trails. Exquisite in every respect, it was simply breathtaking; something soft and beautiful straight from A Midsummer Night’s Dream. And as for all the accessories on display – well, don’t even get me started on the fabulous shoes!
Posted on: Fri, 03 Oct 2014 10:50:22 +0000
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