First look: 5 things you need to see at the V&A’s new Undressed exhibition

The V&A strips down and we're listening up...

V&A, Victoria and albert museum, Undressed: A Brief History of Underwear, v&a underwear exhibition, v&a lingerie
V&A, Victoria and albert museum, Undressed: A Brief History of Underwear, v&a underwear exhibition, v&a lingerie
(Image credit: RICHARD YOUNG/REX/Shutterstock)
By Caroline Leaper
published

The V&A strips down and we're listening up...

What’s on at London’s V&A this spring, we hear you ask? Well it’s the one we’ve all been waiting for, as Undressed: A Brief History of Underwear, the museum’s big fashion showcase, is opening its doors to the public.

Yes, after the success of last year’s major hits, Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty and Shoes; Pleasure And Pain, the next subject area that the Victoria And Albert Museum is tackling is our delicates - documenting the changing trends in lingerie throughout history and examining our attitudes towards our bodies.

So what should we expect from the exhibition? Here are five things you won’t want to miss…

Liza Bruce slip dress, 1993 Remember Kate Moss’s soooo 90s slip dress? Well the clever curators have managed to get hold of that now-vintage fashion gem, designed by Liza Bruce and worn by the supermodel when she partied with Naomi Campbell in 1993. 

(Image credit: RICHARD YOUNG/REX/Shutterstock)

Waist training corsets, 2015 As in Kim Kardashian's waist-sculpting tool of choice. You've got to love the fact that this will sit side by side with Queen Victoria's mother's pantaloons, haven't you?

Antonio Berardi dress, 2002 Is it a corset or is it a dress? A huge part of the exhibition will be dedicated to analysing the whole 'underwear as outerwear' concept, as sported here by none other than Gwyneth Paltrow in sheer Berardi lace.

(Image credit: Sipa Press/REX Shutterstock)

Mary Quant body stocking, late 1960s We’re sorry, but how cute is this vintage leotard? It was designed to give the body a sleek outline under those little white 60s shift dresses, but we wish we had a throwback piece like this in our underwear drawer today.

(Image credit: ©Victoria and Albert Museum, London/Mary Quant)

David Beckham for H&M briefs, 2012 We’re not sure which pair, exactly, of David’s H&M kecks will be on display. And frankly we’re not sure we care. For we’re not going to get all hot under the collar about them, they’re in the museum, as an exhibit, to demonstrate the correlation between hot men, sexuality and advertising gold.

On that note, we’re sold on this exhibition. We’ll see you in the line at the V&A.

Caroline Leaper
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