Worn by Harry Styles, Timothée Chalamet: menswear at V&A in London combines fashion, art and history in one exhibition
- On show in Fashioning Masculinities: The Art of Menswear at the London museum is everything from underwear to stage costumes to suits worn by celebrities
- The exhibition at the V&A looks at menswear in different centuries, and shines a light on designers, tailors and artists
From 18th century billowing shirts to a blue Gucci suit worn by singer Harry Styles, London’s V&A museum is holding its first exhibition dedicated to men’s fashion.
Fashioning Masculinities: The Art of Menswear looks at menswear in different centuries, shining a light on designers, tailors and artists. On show is underwear – old and contemporary – lace and bubble wrap ensembles and plenty of suits.
Alongside the outfits are pictures, paintings and sculptures.
“We wanted to do an exhibition about menswear because we wanted to celebrate its diversity, ranging from the historical to the contemporary, and the approach to the show was to look at both fashion and art,” Claire Wilcox, senior curator of fashion at the V&A, said.
“We start … with a male body and how that’s been shaped and fashioned over the years. We move into the central section, which deals with the exuberance of male fashion from the 18th century to the present … then the final section we look at the suit, how it’s been redressed, dissolved, remade and how [its] language … continues into the present day.”
The Gucci dress worn by Styles is among outfits that sparked online viral moments; others include a black tuxedo ball gown by Christian Siriano worn by Pose actor Billy Porter.
Another Porter outfit on show is a Randi Rahm grey suit and embroidered cloak with a hot pink lining.
“Contemporary menswear is in a position of great strength at the moment,” Wilcox said.
