Culture & Fashion: London's V&A to open Marie Antoinette Style, the first UK exhibition dedicated to the most fashionable queen in history

Marie Antoinette (1755–1793), Queen of France, whose reputation as “the most fashionable queen in history” is rooted in the unique intersection of politics, culture, and aesthetics in late 18th-century Europe. Hers is a name that evokes a pastel-hued world of extravagance: silk gowns, towering hairstyles, satin shoes, sweet indulgences and courtly intrigue, overshadowed by the bloody Revolution that ended it all.

Book cover of Marie Antoinette Style published by the V&A to accompany the exhibition of the same name.
Image courtesy of V&A

Marie Antoinette's influence is lasting because she wasn’t just a passive consumer of fashion.  She actively shaped tastes, helped redefine femininity and celebrity, and became a global symbol of luxury, beauty, and scandal.

Now the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) in London’s South Kensington will host the UK’s first major exhibition Marie Antoinette Style, set to open on 20 September 2025.  Sponsored by luxury footwear house Manolo Blahnik, it will run until 22 March 2026, filling Galleries 38 and 39.

Film still from Sofia Coppola's Marie Antoinette, starring Kirsten Dunst. .
Photo courtesy of I WANT CANDY LLC. and Zoetrope Corp

The exhibition will examine the enduring influence of the French queen, celebrated in her lifetime as a fashion icon and often described as one of history’s first celebrities. Her dress, interiors and decorative tastes, developed during the final decades of the eighteenth century, have shaped over 250 years of fashion, design, film and the decorative arts.

Portrait de Marie-Antoinette à la rose, Élisabeth-Louise Vigée Le Brun © Château de Versailles,
Dist. Grand Palais RMN Christophe Fouin

Marie-Antoinette's Pearl jewels. 
Heidi Horten Collection. © Sotheby's, Bridgeman Images

More than 250 objects will be on display, including rare loans from the Château de Versailles, many of which have never before left France. The exhibition will combine historical and contemporary fashion with immersive displays and audio-visual installations, offering fresh perspectives on Marie Antoinette’s life, her legacy and the fascination she continues to inspire.

 Marie-Antoinette's chair set © Victoria and Albert Museum, London

Highlights will include fragments of her court dress, silk slippers and jewellery from her private collection. Intimate personal effects—such as her dinner service from the Petit Trianon, accessories and items from her toilette case—will be exhibited outside Versailles for the first time.  The exhibition will bring her lavish, theatrical style to life through immersive staging and sensory experiences, including a recreated scent of the royal court and the queen’s own favourite perfume.

Fragments of a court gown belonging to Marie Antoinette © Victoria and Albert Museum, London

Antoinetta, 2005 by Manolo Blahnik

Contemporary fashion will also play a central role, with couture pieces by Dior, Chanel, Erdem, Vivienne Westwood, Valentino and Moschino on display, alongside film costumes from Sofia Coppola’s Oscar-winning Marie Antoinette (2006), starring Kirsten Dunst. The exhibition will also showcase footwear designed by Manolo Blahnik for Coppola’s production.

Moschino runway show,  Fall Winter 2020, Milan Fashion Week, Italy - 20 Feb 2020.
Photo PIXELFORMULA,SIPA, Shutterstock

The V&A’s collection will be displayed alongside international loans, tracing Marie Antoinette’s cultural impact and the designers and creatives she continues to inspire.

Curator Sarah Grant described the queen as “the most fashionable, scrutinised and controversial queen in history,” adding:

“Marie Antoinette’s name summons both visions of excess and objects and interiors of great beauty. The Austrian archduchess turned Queen of France had an enormous impact on European taste and fashion in her own time, creating a distinctive style that now has universal appeal. This exhibition explores her design legacy and the story of a woman whose power to fascinate has never ebbed. The rare combination of glamour, spectacle and tragedy she presents remains as intoxicating today as it was in the eighteenth century.”

 Crystal flaskwith label ‘Eau de Cologne from the  'Nécessaire de voyage’,  belonging to Marie Antoinette.
© Grand Palais RMN (musée du Louvre) Michel Urtado

The Marie Antoinette Style exhibition will unfold chronologically, beginning with the queen’s arrival at Versailles in 1770 and ending with her execution in 1793. This opening section, Marie Antoinette: The Origins of a Style, will trace how she forged her distinctive aesthetic, from fashion and jewellery to furniture, porcelain and music. Highlights include rare personal effects such as her dinner service from the Petit Trianon, her monogrammed armchair and intimate items from her toilette case, many on loan from Versailles for the first time. Objects linked to the infamous diamond necklace affair will also be on show, alongside her final handwritten note before her death.

Slippers belonging to Marie Antoinette beaded pink silk.
Photo CC0 Paris Musées, Musée Carnavalet - Histoire de Paris

The exhibition will then explore how Marie Antoinette’s image was revived in the 19th century. Marie Antoinette Memorialised: The Birth of a Style Cult will examine the romanticised view of the queen promoted by Empress Eugénie, which led to a wave of collecting and a craze for the so-called “French Revival” style across Europe and North America. Dresses by couturier Charles Frederick Worth and photographs by Eugène Atget will illustrate the enduring fascination of the era.

A third section, Marie Antoinette: Enchantment and Illusion, charts how her image entered the realms of fantasy and escapism in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Through Art Nouveau and Art Deco, designers and illustrators such as Jeanne Lanvin, the Boué Soeurs, Erté and Edmund Dulac cast her as a symbol of beauty, decadence and dreamlike allure.

Finally, Marie Antoinette Re-Styled will bring the story up to the present day, showcasing her influence on contemporary fashion, art and popular culture. Couture pieces by Dior, Chanel, Erdem, Valentino and Vivienne Westwood will feature alongside photographs by Tim Walker and Robert Polidori, costumes and accessories from Sofia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette (2006), and works by artists and designers inspired by the queen’s lasting legacy.

Marie Antoinette is remembered as “the most fashionable queen” because she merged aesthetic innovation, personal expression, and political symbolism in a way no monarch had before. She lived at the moment when fashion was becoming a tool of identity and celebrity culture—and her influence still ripples through how we think about style, luxury, and fame today.

Craft and Culture: London Craft Week, May 13 to 19, spotlights on artisans and unique craft traditions from around the world

London Craft Week, running from May 13 to 19, is celebrating its 10th anniversary and has invited partners worldwide to partake in its annual celebration of exemplary craftsmanship. 

Image from London Craft Week 2024

With a focus on both the lesser-known artisans of local craft traditions and the innovative interpretations of established practices by contemporary makers, LCW honours the unsung heroes while highlighting the evolution within the craft landscape.

Crafting Japan, one of the key highlights of London Craft Week 2024.

Dedicated to offering fresh experiences, the programme showcases crafts from under-represented region from around the world.

This year's lineup includes weaving from Kuwait, and embroidery from Yemen.  Amidst the perennial favourites like Japan and Korea, visitors can delve into a myriad of disciplines and artisans, from meticulously handcrafted baskets to the ancient art of mother-of-pearl inlay and traditional Korean Jogakbo patchwork. 

“It seems like yesterday that The King & Queen launched the first London Craft Week in 2015. Now, in our tenth year, we host over 225,000 visitors, 520 events and 700 artists and makers. Our aims remain the same: to bring alive exceptional craftsmanship from across the UK and around the world by tapping into the energy, diversity and serendipity of our city. In a small way, I hope we have in turn contributed to London’s cultural credentials and reinforced the importance of making.” – LCW Chairman, Guy Salter.

Image courtesy of Meisterstrasse Handmade.

Also the Austrian Pavilion presented by Meisterstrasse Handmade, will open at the Austrian Embassy on Tuesday 14 May is dedicated to Salzkammergut, providing glimpses into one of the most famous rural areas in Austria.  It will host a series of events at 18 Belgrave Square, featuring the rich local craftsmanship from Bad Ischl and the Salzkammergut region, designated as this year's European Capital of Culture. 

From May 14 - 19,  Meisterstrasse Handmade showcases a curated range of craftsmanship.  This year’s mission statement is ‘building bridges between East and West’. Traditional manufacturers and innovative craft businesses from Austria welcome master craftspeople from Germany, the UK, Japan, Thailand and Malaysia, including H.M. Queen of Pahang, Malaysia's Royal Pahang Weave Foundation.

Visitors can explore an array of objects, including mouth-blown glass, crystal chandeliers, perfumes, handmade tiles, wooden tables, table linen, hats and headdresses, traditional porcelain and ceramics, handmade caskets, cushions, handprinted and handwoven fabrics, jewellery and more. The curation is divided into three themes: interior design and architecture; sustainable living; and Austrian hospitality and crafts.

Five remarkable makers from the Bad Ischl and the Salzkammergut region will introduce their craft traditions as well as their approaches to a new future of craftsmanship. 

Cavalier Finn is featuring a roster of international artists during London Craft Week 2024.

Among the highlights, Cavaliero Finn is celebrating 20th anniversary. Visitors can expect to see work by a roster of internationally acclaimed artists including ceramicists Annie Turner, Matthew Chambers, Ashraf Hanna, Ikuko Iwamoto, Akiko Hirai, Frances Priest, Sophie Cook, Mimi Joung, Mizuyo Yamashita, Björk Haraldsdóttir, Sarah Purvey and Nicholas Lees; metal sculptors Cecilia Moore, Juliette Bigley, Simon Gaiger and Helen Carnac; textile artists Sara Brennan, Caron Penny, Katharine Swailes and Isabel Fletcher; wood sculptor Robert George; and work by a number of painters whose paintings are exhibited in dialogue with the craft works.

Art & Culture: Jesse Darling wins Turner Prize 2023

Jesse Darling, who lives and works in Berlin and London, standing among his Turner Prize 2023 installation,
currently on show in Eastbourne's Towner until 14 April 2024. 
Photo: Hello Content

Congratulations to Jesse Darling, winner of the £25,000 Turner Prize 2023, announced this evening at a ceremony presented by musician, creative and broadcaster Tinie Tempah at Eastbourne’s Winter Garden, adjacent to Towner Eastbourne, the gallery that hosts this year’s prize. 

(L to R) Tate Britain Director Alex Farquharson; broadcaster Tinie Tempah; Towner Eastbourne CEO Joe Hill and Turner Prize 2023 winner Jesse Darling at the Awards Ceremony.
Photo: Victor Frankowski, Hello Content

Jesse Darling works in sculpture, installation, video, drawing, sound, text and performance, using a "materialist peotics" to explore and reimagine the everyday technologies that represent how we live.

The other three nominees shortlisted for Turner 2023 are British artist Barbara Walker; Rory Pilgrim, who works between the UK and The Netherlands; and London-based Swedish artist Ghislaine Leung.

The jury commended all four nominated artists for their distinct and affecting presentations. Together their varied practices, so well represented in their Turner Prize presentations, are grounded in the realities of the world today, often giving voice to themes of uncertainty and vulnerability. Their work brings immediacy to the issues they respond to, realising these themes in powerful and unexpected ways.

Installation view of Jesse Darling's creation at Towner Eastbourne, 2023. Photo: Angus Mill 
Jesse Darling was commended for his use of materials and commonplace objects like concrete, welded barriers, hazard tape, office files and net curtains, to convey a familiar yet delirious world.
His recent practice encompasses sculpture, installation, text and drawing.

The Turner Prize is one of the best-known visual arts prizes in the world.  It  aims to promote public debate around new developments in contemporary British art. The prize is awarded to an artist born or based in the UK, for an outstanding exhibition or presentation of their work in the past twelve months.

The Turner Prize 2023 jury commended Jesse Darling for his use of materials and commonplace objects like concrete, welded barriers, hazard tape, office files and net curtains, to convey a familiar yet delirious world. Invoking societal breakdown, his presentation unsettles perceived notions of labour, class, Britishness and power.

Installation view of Jesse Darling at Towner Eastbourne, 2023.
Nominated for his solo exhibitions No Medals, No Ribbons at Modern Art Oxford and Enclosures at Camden Art Centre, his presentation for this year's Turner Prize took cues from Towner's coastal location n an installation exploring borders, bodies, nationhood and exclusion.
Photo: Angus Mill 

The members of the Turner Prize 2023 jury are Martin Clark, Director, Camden Art Centre; Cédric Fauq, Chief Curator, Capc musée d’art contemporain de Bordeaux; Melanie Keen, Director of Wellcome Collection and Helen Nisbet, CEO and Artistic Director, Cromwell Place. The jury is chaired by Alex Farquharson, Director, Tate Britain.

An exhibition of the four shortlisted artists is at Towner Eastbourne until 14 April 2024. It is curated by Noelle Collins, Exhibitions and Offsite Curator at Towner Eastbourne. This year’s prize is presented as part of Towner 100, a year-long celebration of arts and culture across Eastbourne and Sussex marking the centenary of Towner Eastbourne. The seaside town is also hosting a wide-ranging cultural programme - Eastbourne ALIVE - encompassing art installations at public buildings in the town and the re-animation of underused spaces through public art, dance and music events. 

Turner Prize 2023 is sponsored by King & McGaw. The education partner is University of Sussex. Turner Prize is supported by Lorna Gradden, Chalk Cliff Trust, The John Browne Charitable Trust and The Uggla Family Foundation. It is also supported in 2023 by Eastbourne Borough Council and East Sussex County Council.  

The prize will mark its 40th anniversary next year, returning to Tate Britain in London for the first time since 2018.

Noël Coward: Art & Style has opened at London’s Guildhall Art Gallery

The exhibition Noël Coward: Art & Style presently on show at the Guildhall Art Gallery gives valuable insight into the life and theatre, stage and on-screen work of the Master, and specifically into his vestiary style, and how he and his circle of influential luminaries have impacted fashion and culture, from his time up till the present day.

As a unique partnership between the City of London Corporation, The Noël Coward Foundation, and The Noël Coward Archive Trust, the exhibition was finally opened in mid-June this year, delayed from its original 2020 planned dates due to Covid restrictions.  Now running until 23 December 2021, the exhibition marks the 100th anniversary of Noël Coward’s London West End debut as a 19-year-old playwright, and also highlights his multi-faceted talent as a composer, director, actor and singer.

Bringing together never-before-seen materials from the Coward Archive, there are original pieces from Sir Noël’s productions, his homes and personal wardrobe, plus original artworks by the playwright himself and his designers. 

There are original set and costume design sketches, original vintage dresses by couturiers Molyneux, Hartnell and Stiebel, as well as contemporary fashions by designers influenced by Coward such as Georgina von Etzdorf and Anna Sui.

Other artwork included were by Oliver Messel, Cecil Beaton, Doris Zinkeisen, Oliver Smith, Gladys Calthrop, Clemence Dane, William Nicholson, and Rex Whistler.

Wendy Hyde, Chair of the City of London Corporation’s Culture, Heritage and Libraries Committee, said in an August 2020 interview that this free and widely anticipated exhibition is “a must-see for anyone interested in visual art, costume and stage design, and the history of British theatre, as well as admirers of Coward’s plays, songs and films.”

Additionally Brad Rosenstein, curator of Noël Coward: Art & Style, said Coward is especially celebrated for his verbal wit, and that his original productions were also visual feasts for their audiences, a vital element of his theatrical world shaped by the extraordinary designers with whom he worked, and his own brilliance as a director. “These productions had an international influence on fashion and were reflected in Coward’s personal style – from his wardrobe to home décor – and just like his plays and songs, still seem fresh, contemporary, and surprising today,” he said.

According to Elizabeth Scott, the City of London Corporation’s Principal Curator, Guildhall Art Gallery, Noël Coward was an icon of his time, and the exhibition features some remarkable pieces of art, costume, and memorabilia to pay tribute to Coward’s enduring style and legacy. 

Photos by Lucia Carpio (C)