Exhibit Review: V&A 'Club to Catwalk'

No place in all of London gives me such inspiration as the V&A. Every time I experience ‘Creative Block’ (Writers Block for Designers), all I gotta go is head over there. But first I have to make a personal protest. In the more popular exhibitions these days, now not only is photography prohibited, but now so is sketching! Usually I attend exhibitions more than once because I like to come back and look again in more details and things that stood out for me. Last year when I first came to the Ballgowns exhibitions at the V&A, the place was filled with fashion students at work-it was such a rich source for inspiration! But then when I came back, with a tiny notebook and pen, one of the ushers told me sketching was prohibited. I was outraged-first, how can they change their policy half way through an exhibition? Second, the V&A is visited by thousands of fashion students a year! It seems so wrong to actually try to dissuade them from drawing inspiration from their presentations. I’m just dumbfounded by this policy, and would love to understand their reasoning behind it.

The Club to Catwalk exhibit currently on is a presentation of the nightlife scene influenced fashion. It features works from designers including John Galliano and Vivienne Westwood who really embraced the outbreak of Punk style of the 1980’s. But it also discussed how fashion morphed into personal expression, in customizing clothes to becoming part of trends such as Goth as a reaction to political movements. 

Overall, I was a little disappointed in the exhibition. To me, the tone was very much a repeat of their Brit Pop exhibit  that opened in 2011, of how nightlife and music influenced fashion movements of the decade. 

However, I was exposed to some designers I’d never heard of, such as the Mortisha brand that picked up on the Goth movement, creating pieces such as coffin shaped clutches. A mask shaped brooch caught my eye, giving me an idea for a mould and a way of expressing my love for the performing arts. The Swanky Modes black stretch dress was fabulous-simply chic, yet so seductive with its use of cut and draping. This brand obviously understand the mechanics of fabric. 

Maybe not one of their best presentations yet, but still featuring some really unique pieces. I wish I could remember more but, oh yeah, I wasn’t allowed to sketch....