Ballgowns: British Glamour Since 1950

by annaemorris

Ballgowns: British Glamour since 1950

The V&A is the perfect place to escape to on a rainy Saturday in July, many happy hours can be spent getting lost in the museum and when that gets tiresome the coffee shop has fancy over priced cake to be eaten in an excellently grand chandeliered tea room. On this rainy afternoon we were on a particularly escapist mission, planning on immersing ourselves in a world of glamour, royalty, debutantes and layers and layers of tulle. The exhibition Ballgowns promised ‘British Glamour since 1950’ and in a year when our Queen celebrates 60 years on the throne and a year on from the wedding of Prince William to Kate Middleton, a true Cinderella story and the most fairytale royal event in recent years, I had high hopes for a truly spectacular celebration of British pomp and ceremony and all things tiaras.

Ballgowns since 1950

Held in the newly renovated Fashion Gallery, the downstairs of the exhibition was a standard museum set up, dresses on mannequins in glass cabinets with brief explanations about who they were made and worn by, this area held ‘Ballgowns since 1950’, while upstairs contained ‘Contemporary Ballgowns’. There was a selection of dresses worn by royalty and debutantes and information about the tradition of couture, in which a designer makes a dress for a particular client, incorporating their ideas, fit issues and adaptations. The dresses themselves were utterly gorgeous frivolities and we spent a happy time seriously considering which would be our deb dress of dreams. However the set up was strangely clinical and did nothing to capture the mood of the dresses themselves.

Contemporary Ballgowns

Upstairs was a different matter, after ascending a sweeping double staircase, which was fully worthy of a tumbling taffeta train, we entered the mezzanine level which was all Tim Walker wonders, giant pearl necklaces, fallen oversized white chandeliers and mannequins wearing the avant-garde, outrageous and most dazzling creations the world of contemporary British fashion has to offer. The dresses included a wispy floral beauty by Hussein Chalayan, Alexander McQueen’s iconic swan dress, an understated embroidered jumpsuit by Stella Mccartney and other works of wonder by the likes of Christopher Kane, Giles and Erdem. This area, although visually stunning, lacked the nostalgia of the previous selection, the photographs of the dresses in action displayed them on red carpet celebrities, on loan from the designer for one night, rather than capturing a story or event with real personal meaning.

Ballgown by Alexander Mcqueen

I felt that the exhibition was inconsistent and if the two set ups had been better integrated it would have been a whole lot more magical. Understandably the dresses downstairs were far more precious and thus behind glass, but what was great about upstairs was being able to get a really close look at the dresses, without also seeing the reflection of yourself (dressed in jeans and t-shirt) in the glass. As a recent fashion graduate and knowing the intricate detail and work that goes into the simplest garment it would have been good to see more information on the making of these masterpieces and those who made them. However it was entertainment enough for a Saturday afternoon and just enough escapism, with my mother engaging in a faux-serious discussion with another visitor about how one might accessorise a giant meringue of a dress by Marchesa and in the end deciding that it just didn’t leave enough room for jewels!

Ballgowns: British Glamour since 1950 runs at the V&A until 6 January 2012