Antoniette by Beatrice Brandini
Kate Moss photographed by Tim Walker for Vogue USA, 2012
The Marie Antoinette Style exhibition at the V&A Museum in London opens on September 20, highlighting how this queen, so in love with fashion, continues to fascinate the public.
Antoinette, created by Manolo Blahnik, 2005
Marie Antoinette’s Chair at the Albert & Victoria Museum
Royal families have always attracted the curiosity and attention of the common people—think of Grace, Caroline, Diana, and now Kate—but it’s curious how the story of a French queen has found space at an important English institution, to which it has dedicated a retrospective, and especially to a figure who lived centuries ago when neither media nor social media existed.
Boué Soeurs (Sylvie and Jeanne Boué) robe de style. Designmuseum Denmark Photo: Pernille Klemp
Slippers that belonged to Marie Antoinette
Wedding gown of Duchess Hedvig Elisabeth Charlotta
Dream dresses, jewels, slippers, but also porcelain and musical instruments from her personal collection, up to more modern dresses, such as those created by the talented Milena Canonero for Sofia Coppola’s film Marie Antoinette. Some 250 exceptional objects, many of which originate from the Palace of Versailles and have never left France.
Marie Antoinette’s Inspiration in Tom Browne and Moschino Creations
Marie Antoinette Inspiration in John Galliano’s Creations
“Marie Antoinette was the most criticized and judged queen in history, so much so that her name is synonymous with both excess and great taste. The Archduchess-turned-sovereign had an enormous impact on European style even in her time, creating an original aesthetic with universal appeal. This exhibition explores the style of the historical figure through a wide variety of both personal items and garments and objects inspired by her, created many decades after her death. Her story has been told with different nuances by subsequent generations: what is certain, however, is that the mix of glamour, myth, and tragedy continues to fascinate audiences today as it did in the eighteenth century” explains curator Sarah Grant.
Marie Antoinette Inspiration in Loewe’s Creations, 2020
Marie Antoinette not only influenced fashion, but also design, interiors, gardens, and all the decorative arts of her time, shaping fashion and trends even today. In short, she was a style icon before social media, before the hype of characters who last only a season but who, as in this case, stand the test of time.
Good life to everyone!
Beatrice