Victoria & Albert Museum Christian Dior: Designer of Dreams Exhibit | London, England

I normally wouldn't create a separate post for one of the many adventures I underwent in a day. However, this exhibition is absolutely worth it. The "Christian Dior: Designer of Dreams" exhibit at the Victoria and Albert Museum is incredible! 

The exhibit is so popular that it quickly sold out and the closing date was extended by several months. When I visited it was sold out. However, one of the lovely Tate Britain ladies I worked with called a friend who works at the V&A and she got me a ticket. 

The clothing was gorgeous, but the exhibition design alone is worth visiting. The exhibition is organized through several rooms that lead into each other. Also, each room has a separate theme or concept. 

 

In the garden room, the clothing incorporated floral designs. They also created floral chandeliers out of laser cut paper which hung from the ceiling and cast interesting shadows on the walls.

That embroidery!

Completely made out of paper!

The atelier room, was filled floor to ceiling with muslin design templates. It also had a video interview with several ateliers so you could better understand the process that goes into creating couture clothing.

The finale room was filled with red carpet worthy pieces. The music, lighting, and projections on the ceiling and walls went through a series of four different transitions. These changes completely changed how you saw and experienced the clothing.

The entire exhibition was inspiring and so pretty on an aesthetic level. Watch the video below for more exhibition details. 

Since I was already at the V&A, I visited a few other galleries as well. Unfortunately the jewelry galleries were closed (they are worth the trip alone) so I explored the tapestry gallery (they're enormous!) and the theatre galleries. They have original costumes, set designs, props, etc in the theatre section that are awesome. 


Pro Tip: a tunnel connects the South Kensington underground station to one of the entrances of the V&A. It's easy to navigate (just follow the signs), and if the weather is sketchy or you are prone to taking the scenic route (aka getting lost) this is a great option!

Costumes from The Lion King

Costume and drawings from Wicked

Joey puppet from War Horse

Set model for Humpty Dumpty

Box from the Palace Theatre of Varieties

If I could only visit one museum in London, I would choose the Victoria and Albert Museum. It has something for everyone and all of their collections are exquisite.