When I visit London I always try and see what exhibits are on and if there are any that are of interest that I might be able to fit in. When I seen the Undressed: A Brief History of Underwear Exhibit I knew it was one that I wanted to visit. To me my underwear is a key part of my wardrobe and can define a mood, a feeling and also on occasion our sexual identity. It has also over the years been seen as a symbol of status and lifestyle. Have you ever wondered how your underwear came to be as it is now? Well this exhibit literally goes through the entire history and it was fascinating to see.
The exhibit is split over two floors; downstairs has much of the antique pieces and then upstairs there is a more contemporary pieces and overall you can get a real feel for how underwear has evolved from the the 18th century right up until today. It also shows the evolution of underwear becoming acceptable outerwear. It was fascinating to see how once undergarments were purely practical to then evolving through to modern times where they have become much more fashionable and pushing boundaries wherever possible. The shapes that undergarments can create really is just mesmerizing from creating an illusion of a small waist to molded padded cups to give an even, smooth shape to the breast.
It covers notions of the ideal body, and the ways that cut, fit, fabric and decoration can reveal issues of gender, sex and morality. {via}
My favourite part of the exhibit had to be the vast array of corsets on display – they are something that I have always found fascinating and there are some exquisite examples of innovation on display. I grew more intrigued when Dita Von Teese became more mainstream and her corsets are some of the most beautiful that I have seen. And there was one of Mr Pearl’s creations for her on display which was just even more breathtaking in person that the images I have seen online.
Overall I loved the exhibit though I would have liked it to displayed slightly differently as it is such an interesting topic. There was thick glass on front of many of the exhibits downstairs and although I understand that the pieces need to protected, I would have loved to have been able to see more angles of the underwear and it may have lessen the feeling that it was a follow the person on front exhibition. When I went to ‘Savage Beauty’ last year it was much better in the lay out and felt more rounded and interactive. But overall if it is something that you are interested in then being able to actually see a brief evolution of what we wear everyday is intriguing.
The exhibit is being held in the Victoria & Albert Museum, London and runs until Sunday, 12 March 2017 and is sponsored by Agent Provocateur and Revlon. If you are in London it is certainly one to pop into and you can find details on the tickets here.
And on a sidenote, even if this exhibit is not your cup of tea – I would highly recommend visiting the V&A anyway – it is one of my favourite museums to visit in London and they host such a vast array of different exhibitions all year around.
