Exhibition Review: Visit To Victoria & Albert Museum
It was a new and fresh experience for me to go to the Victoria & Albert Museum for the first time. My first impression is that it is a very big museum that include a wide range of exhibitions in different forms such as sculpture, paintings, throughout further investigation, I found out that it also includes works from different time periods and countries, within the museum, it also consist of exhibition in many area, for example, fashion, religion etc. Among all the exhibition, temporary show of Mary Quant made me very interested in and enjoyed.
The theme of the show is to display the variety of clothes designed by Mary Quant, who is an iconic designer in the 1960s and 1970s. The exhibition is to show Quant's developmental aesthetic was influenced by Chelsea Set dancers, musicians, and Beatnik street fashion, as well as Modernist, a powerful subculture to the British late 1950s and the love of Italian sportswear, with sharp cuts and simple silhouettes. Quant's first collections are extremely wearable with their minimalist and surprisingly modern style. Unlike structured clothing, which is still popular among fashion designers, Quant wants to 'relax clothes to fit normal life.' She paired her short tunic dresses with leggings in bright, eye-catching colors (scarlet, ginger, plum, and grape), creating a bold, high-fashion version of the practical outfit she wore as a child in school and dance classes.
During the exploration of the show, I think the way the work is displayed is what I have seen and it is usual but well designed and placed. The placement of the garments follow a route which lead the audience to follow and visit by. In the middle of the display, there is also documentary of the life of Mary Quant for the audience to have a deeper understanding of the development her designed and her business. By using films and sound other than display with only garments and words, it will not make the visitors bored and it also helps to have a wider knowledge about the exhibition. From the exhibition, I have learn that Mary Quant was the first designer to use PVC on the body as a cloth, creating ‘wet looks’ clothes and distinct styles of waterproof shoes in her footwear collection, ‘Quant afoot’. I was really surprised how design in the past can be reuse and became trendy for now as I thought PVC only become popular in recent years. My favorite piece is a pajama-like shirt dress which is in red jewel colored satin with pocketed pants to match. The reason why I like it is because it added a sense of playfulness by using pajamas silhouettes but in bright color enable it to be unique and eye-catching, moreover, it allows the wearer to move easily and comfortably.
After a visit to the exhibition, I know more not only about the shows of Mary Quant, but understood how visiting museums can bring a wider vision and inspiration to oneself.
