Published: 09/10/2025
For lovers of France, history and fashion, this exhibition will thrill you. From the first room with dazzling chandelier lights illuminating a wedding dress of enormous proportions and great beauty, to the final room with more modern examples of dresses and shoes influenced by her (think Manolo Blahnik, Vivienne Westwood), you will be enraptured.
Marie Antoinette’s few remaining personal possessions are on display, such as her silk slippers. Her jewels, sent out of France with her daughter, will dazzle you with their brilliance, not least the Sutherland Diamonds, bow brooches and bracelet clasps. Her initials are woven or engraved, visible on many objects. We also see examples of the fans and hats she made popular. I loved the famous portrait of her by Élizabeth Vigée Le Brun, as she is seen holding a pink rose. There too are things from Le Petit Trianon, her gardening tools and her more modest Sèvres cornflower service! I loved seeing her piano and hearing some music she would have played. We also see her harp. The more macabre aspect to her story is not overlooked as we see cartoons of how she was ridiculed and the guillotine thought to have beheaded her.
This exhibition is beautifully spread over several small and intimate rooms apart from the last one which glories in amazing contemporary costumes. Those of you interested in fabrics and fashion will find much to interest you in this exhibition at the V&A, South Kensington. I hope you find time to go! Ends 22 March 2026. Click here for direct link to website.
