Next month, the V&A takes a look inside the alluring role of underwear design from the 18th century to the present day – and with highlights from Mary Quant’s body stocking to Gwyneth Paltrow’s trompe l’oeil corset, it looks set to be a revealing exhibition indeed
When it opens on April 15, Undressed: A Brief History of Underwear will bring together 200 pieces, highlighting the enduring themes of innovation and luxury, from custom-made home-made ‘stays’ worn by a working woman in England in the 18th century to pieces by designers including Stella McCartney, La Perla and Paul Smith. Highlights will include long cotton drawers worn by Queen Victoria’s mother, a 1960s Mary Quant body stocking, a sheer dress by Liza Bruce famously worn by Kate Moss and flesh-coloured leggings designed by Vivienne Westwood.
There will also be a skin-tight laced cocktail dress by Jean Paul Gaultier from 1989, a delicate lingerie dress by Ellie Saab in 2011, a Dolce & Gabbana dress featuring a large cage crinoline from their s/s 2013 collection and Antonio Beradi’s 2009 monochrome dress, worn by Gwyneth Paltrow, featuring a trompe l’oeil corset which reveals the underwear worn beneath.
As fashions changed, so did underwear and the exhibition explores this relationship between underwear and outerwear. While shirts, chemises and petticoats were sometimes partially revealed before the 20th century to indicate quality and the wealth of the owner, today exposed underwear is a common sight. The exhibition will include a Calvin Klein crop top and briefs worn with low-slung hot pants, and a beautiful transparent and an embroidered muslin dress worn with lace knickers, designed by John Galliano for Givenchy haute couture.
The vigorous debate about corsets and how to make them supportive and healthy will be explored, with a restrictive 1890s whalebone and cotton corset with a waist under 19 inches in circumference displayed alongside x-rays and illustrations revealing the dramatic impact on the body of wearing such a garment. An austerity corset made from paper during World War One and a waist training corset, a slimming tool endorsed by celebrity figures such as Kim Kardashian, will also be on display.
Corsetry and lingerie are often designed to be alluring, seductive or playful, to enable wearers to express their desires and fantasies. The exhibition will explore the tempting nature of underwear, from a vivid pink silk 1890s corset, to a contemporary negligée by Carine Gilson, like that worn by actress Bérénice Marlohe in the film Skyfall. As much as underwear can be revealed, it can also be designed with the intention to transform or provoke. All will illustrate that the choice of underwear for the bedroom remains intrinsically personal, and has been throughout the centuries.
Corsetry and lingerie are often designed to be alluring, seductive or playful, to enable wearers to express their desires and fantasies
We will see the development of the bra traced throughout the 20th century. Bras, girdles and shape wear will be on display to illustrate the importance and variety of support, from striking advertisements for latex corsetry by 1930s brand Chamaux, to a 1950s Playtex rubber girdle and Spanx designs from 2010.
A pair of 1930s silk chiffon knickers decorated in lace will show how the finest fabrics and exceptional craft skills contribute to making luxury underwear. Garters and hosiery will be shown including floral embroidered stockings worn by Queen Alexandra and wife of King Edward VII Schiaparelli nylon stockings from 1953.
Alongside corsets, crinolines, boxer shorts, bras, hosiery, lingerie and loungewear will be photographs, films, advertisements, display figures and packaging to illustrate the way that advertising often plays to the appeal of a youthful, fit, sexually attractive body. The importance of fit will be shown with a focus on men’s underwear, which includes the packaging for David Beckham’s briefs for H&M in 2012 and a display figure for Y-front pants from the 1950s.
Undressed: A Brief History of Underwear, sponsored by Agent Provocateur and Revlon, from 16 April 2016 – 12 March 2017.
For more information, visit vam.ac.uk/undressed
Main image credit: Agent Provocateur
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