v&a review

After visiting the v&a last week for the Hollywood costumes and ballgowns British glamour exhibitions I was overwhelmed with the amount of inspiring dresses. Above are a few sketches I made afterwards, the first two are from the Hollywood costume exhibition, the first was made for the film 'Elizabeth' each and every one of these costumes was exquisite, and each had a purpose and a story. A quote from the museum was 'costumes are made and not shop bought, they reflect everyday life and the character themselves'. One costume which fascinated me was AVATAR, but that was animated right? Yes the film is an animation but every bit of costume for the animation was made first so the director could see how everything would fit together in the film itself. Sketches must be made first and sometimes even a scene sketch to really show what the costume is going to portray. 
The second image is a dress worn by Emily Blunt in the film The Wolfman, this was again a period costume and so a lot of research, visualisation and the directors vision needed to be taken into account.

'A well designed costume embodies the psychological  social and emotional condition of the character at a particular moment in the story'.

Hubert De Givenchy, was the designer of Audrey Hepburns costume in Breakfast at Tiffanys he said 'Audrey's chic and silhouette grew ever more celebrated enveloping me a radiance that I could never have hoped'. Each and every costume was designed for a purpose and the exhibition celebrated this.

The British Glamour and Ballgowns exhibition was beautifully put together and very different to the dark setting of the Hollywood costume one. With its lights and glass booths to show either the front back or side of the dress depending on which was the most eye catching. The third drawing is of the back of one of the dresses, the drape and trail was so beautiful along with the fabric the whole dress flowed elegance. A Matthew Williamson dress made from pleats which had been dip dyed in turquoise and blue along with cream was made and showed amazing definition to the shoulders and chest area to then drop down the torso to the floor.
Each and every dress this time was to show off and emphasize the female figure and show off current fashions or the designers unique ideas. Many of these dresses have been worn by celebrities on the red carpet and to major fashion events, this may then get the designer noticed and the look is written about in fashion magazines and are then desired by other women.

I then went online to research more and found this website, it shows just a few of the pieces in the British glamour exhibition if you want to read more into the dresses-

http://www.haute-world.com/2012/07/ballgowns-british-glamour-since-1950-v.html