The first UK exhibition to explore the complex relationship between fashion and nature from 1600 to the present day. The V&A investigates sustainability and fashion in this new exhibition, which pairs garments with specimens from the natural world. This exhibition will present fashionable dress alongside natural history specimens, innovative new fabrics and dyeing processes, inviting visitors to think about the materials of fashion and the sources of their clothes.
Consider for a moment that everything we wear, from clothes and accessories to jewellery, is ‘fashioned’ from matter found in the world around us. We express ourselves through our appearance and enjoy fashion for its novelty, variety and creativity. Yet, fashion’s demands frequently damage the environment and endanger the world’s flora, fauna and human communities.
These are the urgent topics explored in our exhibition Fashioned From Nature, which asks two key questions: can we learn anything from the past; and how we can design a vibrant and creative fashion system that respects, protects and celebrates the natural world?
From stunning botanical embroidery to earrings made from birds of paradise, the relationship between nature and fashion is complex and often controversial. This exhibition will take you on a journey through centuries of fashion that have drawn inspiration from, and plundered the natural world – through to the contemporary innovators who are directly addressing the issues caused by the industry.
V&A Museum, until 19 January 2019.
