Victoria and Albert Museum

Victoria and Albert Museum The V&A is a family of museums dedicated to the power of creativity.
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Our mission is to champion design and creativity in all its forms, advance cultural knowledge, and inspire makers, creators and innovators everywhere. V&A South Kensington is a world of extraordinary global creativity, with unmissable exhibitions, experiences and educational programmes for all. One of London's most iconic buildings, it is home to national collections of art, design, fashion, photo

graphy and furniture to theatre, performance, architecture, and ceramics, as well as the UK's National Art Library. It is a place where everyone can experience a story of creativity that spans 5,000 years and every creative discipline, which brings that story to life through programmes and activities for all ages and specialisms, and world-leading research and conservation.

Mitchel Maer was a costume jewellery designer who worked for Christian Dior from 1952 to 1956. 🦄His exuberant pieces, ma...
06/06/2026

Mitchel Maer was a costume jewellery designer who worked for Christian Dior from 1952 to 1956. 🦄

His exuberant pieces, made with crystals, artificial pearls and semi-precious stones such as citrines and peridots, adorned many of Dior’s catwalk creations.

In 1956, he went bankrupt and took his company into voluntary liquidation. After Dior's death the following year, Yves St Laurent brought a new style to the house, and Maer’s work slid into obscurity.

This unicorn brooch set with cut glass stones is a good example of the sort of whimsical, playful jewellery that came into fashion in the post-war years.

Get an up-close look at this Brooch through our ‘Order an Object’ service at V&A South Kensington.

Brooch, Mitchel Maer, England, 1952.

but make it V&A 👀 Photographers Bolas & Co. were capturing the V&A's empty corridors and unfinished galleries long bef...
04/06/2026

but make it V&A 👀

Photographers Bolas & Co. were capturing the V&A's empty corridors and unfinished galleries long before liminal spaces became internet lore.

These photographs were collected by our National Art Library and documented a museum in constant transition from the 1850s onwards. Rooms waiting to be filled, collections being rearranged, and corners rarely seen by visitors.

Originally created as records of architecture and design, they now offer something else, glimpses of a V&A that feel both familiar and a little uncanny.

Which image has the most sinister aura?

A Schiaparelli Wedding ✨This 1934 Schiaparelli wedding dress was worn by Rosalinde Gilbert for her marriage to Arthur Gi...
03/06/2026

A Schiaparelli Wedding ✨

This 1934 Schiaparelli wedding dress was worn by Rosalinde Gilbert for her marriage to Arthur Gilbert. Purchased from Schiaparelli’s London salon, the gown featured removable sleeves (now lost), allowing it to be transformed from a wedding dress into an elegant evening gown.

The design’s versatility was fitting for Rosalinde, who ran her own wholesale fashion house, Rosalinde Gilbert Ltd., and was known for creating ingenious “double-role dresses” that could be adapted into different looks with minimal alterations. She likely modified the train herself, adding her own creative touch to the gown.

On display at V&A South Kensington, Schiaparelli: Fashion Becomes Art exhibition.

02/06/2026

Capturing landscapes in stone 🏞️

Assistant curator Isabella takes a closer look at an extraordinary 17th-century cabinet featuring stone mosaics by the renowned Castrucci family, master craftsmen who brought the rich colours of Bohemian jasper to the courts of Europe.

Originally from Florence, the Castrucci settled in Prague under the patronage of Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II, creating works that celebrated the natural resources and artistic ambition of his empire.

This cabinet comes from the renowned collection of Sir Arthur and Rosalinde Gilbert, transferred to Britain in 1996 and on long-term loan to the V&A since 2008.

See it in the Gilbert Galleries at V&A South Kensington (Rooms 70–73).

On what would have been Marilyn Monroe’s 100th birthday, we reflect on the enduring legacy of one of the 20th century’s ...
01/06/2026

On what would have been Marilyn Monroe’s 100th birthday, we reflect on the enduring legacy of one of the 20th century’s most recognisable cultural figures.

This print by Andy Warhol is part of a series of ten different colourways. Drawing on a photograph taken by Gene Kornman for the 1953 film 'Niagara' where Monroe played 'Rose', Warhol transformed a publicity shot into a work of modern design. Countless images of the star are in circulation, but Warhol's is perhaps the most familiar representation.

At the centre of this striking piece is Marilyn Monroe herself - an actor, performer and cultural figure who helped define modern celebrity culture, not only through her looks but also the contrast between her public image and her personal struggles. A symbol of both the allure and the costs of fame.

Visit V&A South Kensington, Prints & Drawings Study Room, level C, to request to view this print.

Image Description: A screen-print in shocking pink colour way of Marilyn Monroe.

OPEN NOW - Lost Music Venues at V&A South Kensington.This free display celebrates four decades of spaces that nurtured t...
30/05/2026

OPEN NOW - Lost Music Venues at V&A South Kensington.

This free display celebrates four decades of spaces that nurtured talent, built community and shaped British music.

From Pulp’s tour manager briefcase to handwritten Oasis lyrics, a Blur set list that secured a publishing deal to a bespoke club outfit designed by Vivienne Westwood - over 100 objects bring together the stories of around 50 venues that made British music what it is today.

The display also explores the golden age of UK club culture, from the Hacienda to Plastic People, as well as the challenges facing the sector and the future of grassroots music venues.

Lost Music Venues runs until 22 May 2027 in Theatre & Performance, Room 104 at V&A South Kensington.

Free entry to all.

Photography: David Parry for the V&A

A Peony in Rubies 🌺Designed by Cindy Chao, this extraordinary peony brooch brings together 3,150 rubies, eleven years of...
30/05/2026

A Peony in Rubies 🌺

Designed by Cindy Chao, this extraordinary peony brooch brings together 3,150 rubies, eleven years of craftsmanship, and one remarkable feat of engineering and artistry.

Layered petals were first sculpted in wax, then cast in titanium to create an intricate lattice of individual gem settings, balancing opulence with remarkable delicacy. Commissioned by Taiwanese philanthropist Yu Hsiang, the brooch reimagines rubies from a treasured family necklace into a peony: an imperial flower symbolising beauty, resilience and good fortune in Chinese tradition.

Visit V&A South Kensington, Jewellery, Rooms 91, The William and Judith Bollinger Gallery, to see the Peony brooch on display.

Image description: Peony-shaped brooch with seven-layered petals set with oval rubies.

The summer six million people came to Hyde Park. 175 years ago this year, in the summer of 1851, a radical structure of ...
29/05/2026

The summer six million people came to Hyde Park.

175 years ago this year, in the summer of 1851, a radical structure of glass and iron rose in Hyde Park. Designed by Joseph Paxton and assembled by 2,000 workers in just seven months, it became the largest man-made covered space on earth at the time - and was affectionately nicknamed the Crystal Palace.

Inside, over 100,000 objects from 34 nations celebrated art, science and industry, drawing more than 6 million visitors from around the world in a single summer.

Although it was dismantled, its legacy didn’t disappear. The proceeds helped transform South Kensington into the cultural quarter you know today - and 244 of the objects on display were purchased to form the founding collection of what is now the V&A.

Learn more about the iconic museums, venues, institutions and parks that make up this area next weekend Great Exhibition Road Festival

🔗 Read the full story behind the Great Exhibition: https://www.vam.ac.uk/articles/the-great-exhibition-of-1851

Image description and details:

1. Crystal Palace and gardens at Sydenham, photograph, published by Cundell and Downes, about 1863, London.
2. Aeronautic View of the Palace of Industry for All Nations, from Kensington Gardens, 1851’, print, by Charles Burton, London, England.
3. ‘Interior of the Crystal Palace’, showing Owen Jones’ colour scheme to decorate the construction elements, watercolour, by William Simpson, about 1851, Britain.

Sculpted Fashion💚Issey Miyake was one of the most innovative designers of the late 20th and early 21st centuries, helpin...
28/05/2026

Sculpted Fashion💚

Issey Miyake was one of the most innovative designers of the late 20th and early 21st centuries, helping redefine fashion in Paris alongside a new wave of Japanese designers in the 1970s and 1980s.

The Plastic Body (early 1980s) is part of his experimental Bodyworks series, which explored the relationship between clothing and the human form. The plastic bustier is moulded from glass fibre and polyester resin, precisely tracing the contours of the female body.

Rather than conceal, Miyake’s design reveals and celebrates the body, transforming clothing into wearable sculpture.

📸 Designed by Issey Miyake, in collaboration with the mannequin manufacturer Nanasai, Japan, Autumn/Winter 1980.

Eid Mubarak to everyone celebrating Eid al-Adha today!How did people remember important life achievements before photogr...
27/05/2026

Eid Mubarak to everyone celebrating Eid al-Adha today!

How did people remember important life achievements before photography?

This colourfully painted tile is a souvenir of the holy pilgrimage to Mecca. Known as the Hajj, Muslim believers are required to perform it once in their lifetime.

Commissioned by someone who completed the Hajj around 1650, this tile shows a bird’s-eye view of Mecca. The stonepaste body was hand-painted and calligraphed before the final glazing, preserving its bright colours, such as cobalt and turquoise blue. All the important buildings are labelled in Arabic, and at the centre of the scene, the Ka‘bah is shown as the square black building.

Get an up-close look at this tile on display at V&A South Kensington Room 42, Islamic Middle East.

Tile, made in Turkey, ca.1650. Museum no. 427-1900.

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