London 2018: Victoria & Albert Again

The Victoria and Albert Museum is so expansive with so many different galleries to see that there is no way to do it justice in one day (or even several days as we found out).  We decided to allocate one and a half days to the venue that is the world’s largest museum of decorative arts and design with over 2.3 million items in its collection.  Our first visit was a half day scouting expedition where we took the Introductory Highlights Tour to get an overview of what we should concentrate on during our return visit.  We also knocked off the British galleries and ate lunch in the stunning Classical Revival style cafeteria space designed by James Gamble and had a cold drink out on the terrace in the beautiful Garden Café.  On our second visit, we dedicated the entire day to tour the galleries, but still would not be able to visit all of them.  Based on our scouting expedition, we had mapped out the areas that we wanted to concentrate on, as well as two special exhibitions that we would pay an additional fee to visit (whereas the rest of the museum was admissible for free).

One of these special exhibits was titled Ocean Liners: Speed and Style, focusing on the design stories of some of the world’s most luxurious Ocean Liners of the 20th century, including the RMS Titanic (White Star Line - 1912), SS Normandie (Compagnie Générale Transatlantique or CGT - 1935-42), RMS Queen Mary (Cunard - 1936-67) and SS Canberra (P&O - 1961-97).  Promotional posters were designed to highlight the sleek, majestic ships, emphasizing the size, speed and elegance.  A sectional model of the RMS Berengaria (circa 1920) illustrated how ocean liners of the time were laid out.  The grand, first-class public rooms occupied the upper-most deck while the first-class dining room with a domed ceiling was situated at the centre, the most stable and comfortable part of the ship.  The Berengaria was originally the German cruise liner SS Imperator (1913) but was allocated to Britain as part of WWI reparations. A poster from the Cunard Line of ships showed the relative space and locations of first, second, third class rooms and dining spaces as well as the baggage and storage areas at the bottom of the vessels.

Shipping companies competing for wealthy passengers, lured them with luxurious interior designs that rivaled high-end hotels and restaurants in terms of opulence and beauty.  Some examples of these interiors on display included the carpet for the first-class lounge of the RMS Aquitania, and decor from the SS France including oak paneling from the communication gallery, two armchairs covered in blue embossed velvet from the first class dining room and a pair of stunning doors from the embarkation hall, with sunburst imagery that referenced the Sun King, Louis XIV.  Items on display from the SS Queen Mary included lovely wool carpets from the first-class state rooms, a rosewood and maple armchair covered with cotton and silk and a maple veneer table with black laquer from the Long Gallery, all reflecting a contemporary style of “restrained modernism”.  The intricately designed wood panel from the promenade deck entrance of the SS Uganda used 35 different types of wood to depict birds of Africa, reflecting the destination to which the ship travelled.   I particularly liked the floral marquetry inlays in the wood panel  from the SS Île de France with the French Art Deco chair in front of it, and the fabulous large-scaled golden laquer panel titled “Les Sports” by Jean Dunand from the first-class smoking room of the SS Normandie featuring men throwing javelins and discuses.  Rich red lacquered side tables and upholstered chairs with floral embroidery complemented the dramatic walls.

More décor on display included a panel from the work “Rape of Europa” by Jean Dupas which was created for the first-class grand salon on the SS Normandie, as part of a glass mural spanning 400 square metres.  Charles Gilbert’s glass panels etched with images of coral reefs decorated the first-class ballroom of the SS United States.  An interesting piece created for the synagogue provided on the Queen Mary was a veneered wood “Torah ark”, an ornamental cabinet used to store Torah scrolls.  Synagogues became more prominent on ocean liners as the number of Jewish travelers increased.  Also found on the Queen Mary is Maurice Lambert’s cast aluminum relief called “Speed and Progress” which is the epitome of Art Deco design. Multiple oil-painted panels for a mural titled “English Pub” by Edward Bawden could be found on the first-class lounge of the SS Oronsay.

Since the Ocean Liners were modeled after high-end hotels, it is not surprising to see staff dressed like bellhops.  Back then, activities on the ships included the typical lounging on deck chairs and swimming, but also boxing, skeet-shooting, shuffle board, fencing, tennis and volleyball.  On most high-end ships, guests showed off their fashions and made prominent, glamorous entrances into first-class dining areas by strutting down dramatic staircases known as “The Grande Descente”.  On the SS Canberra, even the first-class childrens’ play area boasted designer décor including nursery rhyme inspired murals featuring images of Humpty Dumpty, Little Bo Peep and Treasure Island.

A section of the exhibit focused on luggage and fashions seen on the ocean liners.  The Louis Vuitton rolling “Desk Trunk” made of canvas, brass, leather, wood and velvet, opens up like a portable dresser with drawers.  Examples of wardrobe included the elegant bright-red evening dress by designer Lucien Lelong which was worn on the SS Normandie by the wife of a shipping magnet, and the green silk Jeanne Lanvin designed glass-beaded flapper dress (named “Salambo) which was worn by American socialite Emilie Grigsby.  There was Maison Goyard luggage owned by King Edward VIII, who travelled frequently between France and America with Wallis Simpson after he abdicated the throne.  A brown woolen Christian Dior day suit was worn by actress Marlene Dietrich on the RMS Queen Mary.  Fashion inspired by specific ocean liners included a leather and metal hand-clutch bag shaped like the SS Normandie and a silk blouse decorated with the words “Queen Mary” in stylized print.

Dining was a very different experience depending on the class of travel in terms of food, service and tableware.  Top chefs from restaurants such as the Ritz and Carlton hotels were hired to prepare meals for first-class passengers, serving items like Beluga caviar, venison steak and wild strawberries.  My favourite example of tableware was the beautiful purple-hued Wedgewood bone china designed by Edward Bawden for the Orient Line.  I was amused but also impressed by the menu for dogs provided on the SS Normandie which included various cuts of meats and vegetables with toasts.  On the SS Oronsay, the children’s tableware was decorated with elephants and monkeys and the children’s menu included games and activities.  The bed from the first-class cabin of the RMS Maurentania was designed to fit perfectly against the curved hull in order to maximize cabin space.  The intricately carved bed included built-in drawers and a fold-out nightstand.  After the pleasure of experiencing all that luxury and opulence, it was a sobering sight to see a fragment of an extremely ornate Rococo-style over-door panel from the first-class lounge of the Titanic, which was found floating on the surface of the Atlantic after the ship’s tragic sinking.

The second special exhibit that we bought tickets for was titled “Fashioned from Nature”.  It explored the complex relationship between fashion and nature, looking at items dating from the 1600s to the current day.  It presents examples of fashionable dress made with unusual natural materials, innovative new fabrics and dyeing processes.  A French silk dress with silver and gilded threads that was worn by a lady of the court in 1760 was coloured with plant dye from brazilwood and redwood trees to obtain the pink and brown tones, as well as lichen and indigo to produce blue shades.  Pineapple fibres were woven into a silk wedding dress, made in Britain in 1828.  A Parisian wool hat from 1885 is decorated with a stuffed starling supplemented with feathers from a goose in order to give the illusion of a larger more exotic species of bird.  An xray of the hat shows the actual skeleton of the starling.  The matching silk and wool walking dress is supported in the bodice by whalebone and the shirt with a horse-hair pad and two factory-made steel half hoops held in place by elastic rubber tape.  Over 5000 wings of the green Indian jewel beetle were used to decorate a cotton dress from 1869.  The feathers from domesticated and farmed ostriches from South Africa were used for clothes and fans in the 1860s.  Birds with iridescent feathers such as peacocks, hummingbirds and honeycreepers from South America were popular for ornamenting dresses, hats and other accessories, as well as being incorporated in jewellery.

A section of the exhibit provides examples of fashion being inspired by nature.  A pair of dresses by the House of Dior were influenced by flowers including a 1956 silk taffeta Montecarlo evening dress decorated with the pattern of roses, and bright purple mohair wool and silk chiffon coat (2010) that  literally turned the model into a large hot-house flower, while the purple Perspex (type of acrylic) hat is formed to look like the cellophane that wraps a bouquet.   A beautiful calf-skin handbag by Gucci (2017) includes silk-screened motifs of two male stag beetles while the clasp resembles a fox.  The “leopard skin” dress by Jean Paul Gaultier (1997) is actually made of taffeta with coloured beads and rhinestones placed to simulate the animal’s spots and claws.  Japanese designer Masaya Kushino’s “Bird-witched shoes” (2014) made of crocodile leather and rooster feathers with the magnificent metal claws, were inspired by drawings of 18th Century bird artist Ito Jakuchu.  Alexander McQueen’s “Plato’s Atlantis” dress (2010) is inspired by world climate change, depicting melting ice caps and submerged lands.  The printed silk georgette “Faberge Imperial Gown” (2016) by Giles Deacon is decorated with the pattern of guillemot eggs which have unusual pointed shapes and varied colours.  Actual eggs on loan from the Natural History Museum were displayed next to the dress as a source of comparison.

While processes used in the 19th Century and earlier caused environmental harm by releasing pollutants into the water supply, the 20th Century took matters to another level.  With the innovations of man-made textiles created from chemically treated organic fibres, synthetically engineered fibres made from by products of oil and coal, overhunting, the reaping of endangered plants and animals, and the migration of manufacturing overseas to countries with low labour costs but little environmental legislation, the impact of the fashion industry on the environment increased exponentially.  On display were various gowns made of synthetic fabrics that were produced with toxic chemicals, insecticides and processes that caused air and water pollution, oil spills and led to bans in the USA.  Other practices now seen as issues included animal cruelty and overhunting of endangered species.  Examples of this included crocodile-skin handbag, an evening cape made from Colobus monkey fur and accessories made with pheasant feathers.  Unlike the Gaultier leopard dress which was made with natural materials, the semi-synthetic fabric viscose rayon used to create the leopard-patterned evening dress (1933) by Busvine was quite harmful the environment.  Viscose rayon is created by converting wood pulp with carbon disulphide.  In addition to water and air pollution, this toxic chemical compound has a noxious smell and could cause nerve damage and heart disease to those exposed to its fumes.

Fashion activism was used in environmental protests against the fashion industry, using designs on T-shirts, jackets and other wardrobe items to convey messages and warnings about toxic production practices and climate change.  Messages included “It’s Getting HOT in here”, “Clean up or die”, “Save the Artic”, “Climate Revolution” and “Who Made My Clothes?”.  In 2013, a project called “Planet Money” followed the production of two t-shirts from the growing, spinning, dyeing of the material, to the construction and printing of the shirt, to the delivery to the stores.  In one example, cotton is grown in the U.S., spun into fabric in Indonesia, dyed, knit and manufactured in Bangladesh and finally the producing and printing of the design of a squirrel with a martini was done back in the U.S. again.  Given all this, how would you answer “Who made my clothes?”  Without visibility into all the steps in the supply chain, the social and environmental impact of each stop is often overlooked.

Given that the fashion industry is one of the top five polluters of the world, it is somewhat reassuring that some designers and fashion companies seek to follow more ethical methods for design, sourcing of reusable, recycled or sustainable materials and production.  A fabric made from recycled plastic bottles was used in the creation of a Calvin Klein outfit consisting of a bustier, trousers and long train that was worn by actress Emma Watson at the 2016 Met Gala.  A frilly, pink polyester dress was also made from recycled plastics collected from oceans and waterways.  Recycled polyester requires up to 50% less energy to create than new polyester.  The linen jacket and trousers designed by actor John Malkovich are made from flax, which requires no irrigation (relying on rain and ground water) and minimal pesticides.  An animal-free Vegan leather alternative made from the stalks, seeds and skins of grapes during wine production was used by designer Tiziano Guardini to create a full-length gown, belt and purse.  A crocheted jacket and trousers was created with leftover stock yarn and leather pieces that would otherwise be destined for the landfill.  Wearable paper clothing is made from unbleached wood pulp which is then dyed and finished.  The ultimate example of reuse comes from the dress, bag and hat made by reusing or “upcycling” old WWI silk escape maps that helped RAF pilots find their way when stranded in enemy territory.  The accompanying zip-up waterproof jacket is constructed from surplus military parachutes.  Well known fashion brands are using their clout to support environmental initiatives.  J.Crew donated 50% of the retail price of a T-shirt decorated with bees to the “Save the Bees” campaign.  The orange jacket by Patagonia is made from recycled polyester and filled with feathers obtained from a certified cruelty-free farm.  The running shoes by Veja are constructed from sustainably grown organic cotton and wild rubber from Brazil with the proceeds supporting the World Wildlife Fund and the Sky Rainforest Rescue campaign.

In addition to the Fashioned From Nature exhibit, the Victoria and Albert Museum has quite the comprehensive permanent fashion collection in its own right, with wardrobe and accessories dating from the 18th Century through to current day.  Some of my favourite pieces included the 1895 velvet evening coat decorated with floral patterned silk embroidery, the 1926 tennis dress with emerald-green and white patch-work squares by Hepburne Scott and the beautiful 1949 “Butterfly” evening cape made from accordion-pleated rayon ribbons sewn together in a continuous loop that was designed for prima ballerina Ninette de Valois.  There was also the gorgeous 1954 silk satin evening dress by Pierre Balmain that was hand-painted, the evening coat by Elsa Schiaparelli (1937) decorated with pink roses sitting in an embroidered urn that also doubles as a pair of facial profiles looking at each other, and two of dresses from the 1960s made from bonded fibre paper printed with the psychedelic designs popular from that decade.  More current dresses included a 2009 Christopher Kane body-hugging dress made of nylon and elastane with mirror and metal beads that formed an intricate pattern.  This collection gave a good overview of how fashion has changed over the centuries and decades.

The V&A has an entire gallery consisting of two levels devoted to jewellery, with a few pieces dating back to ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome, but for the most part focusing on Western jewellery from Medieval Times to the present.  I really liked the pair of Arts and Crafts styled pendants (circa 1900) by husband and wife designers Edith and Nelson Dawson.  My favourite was the beautiful enamel plaque with the motif of a purple tradescantia flower surrounded by gold and silver gilt, with two amethysts and an opal pendant dangling from the bottom.  I also liked the one with the spray of lilies-of-the-valley in the enamel surrounded by a gold frame decorated with pearls and sapphires and a small golden cherub at the top.  Also from the same time frame is the enameled gold pendant depicting a female figure holding her braids that is set with rubies.  A set of small hard-stone carvings of animals and flowers by Carl Faberge included a fabulous snail made of green nephrite jade (late 19th to early 20th century).  Some of the more contemporary pieces are fun and whimsical.  Marjorie Schick’s necklace called “Ring of Fire” (1995) is made of painted papier-mâché, consisting of a circular spiral of brightly coloured red, purple, orange, yellow and blue flame-like forms decorated with a leaf-like chevron pattern.  Norwegian designer Felieke van der Leest is known for her humorous works using plastic animals dressed in crochet clothing.  Her bracelet called “J.Russells” (2008), made of gold, glass, plastic and textile, depicts six Jack Russell terriers dressed in striped football gear standing on their hind legs, who are linked at their shoulders and ankles by gold-link chains.

The furniture section of the museum featured a good selection of items from the Arts and Crafts and Art Nouveau periods.  Scottish designer Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s iconic high-backed oak chair (1897-1900) has an oval panel with a cut-out section that resembles a bird in flight.  The high-back shape seems to have influenced Frank Lloyd Wright who created his own version of dining room chairs in 1902 although Wright’s seems more severe in comparison.  Mackintosh also designed the very clever circular table with a small round surface for playing dominoes, lower shelves facing in four directions that are used for holding plates and cups, and four matching rounded chairs that tuck right into the table.  Other lovely examples of Arts and Crafts design include vases, wallpaper, a plate and a lamp.  A gorgeous peacock-shaped wall sconce (1899) by Alexander Fisher is made of steel, bronze, brass and silver with enameled decoration to produce the eyes of the peacock’s tail.  The stylish but functional dining room sideboard by Edward Godwin, made of ebonized mahogany with silver-plated handles and inset panels of Japanese-embossed leather paper, has many drawers, adjustable shelves and a rack fitted to hold a large dish between the two cupboards.

The curiously playful Chair-Bench (2012) seems more like a historic artwork than an actual piece of furniture.  Using ash to create a curved bench, designer Gitta Gschwendtner recreated the backs and legs of six chairs from the V&A’s furniture collection, choosing ones made from different woods and by different techniques.  She mounted the backs and legs onto the bench, but mischievously mismatches them so that different styles were joined together.  There were some interesting examples of more recently designed furniture that morph and change shapes, either taking on a new function or for storage purposes.  As early as 1938, Eileen Gray (who was always ahead of her time) created a prototype for a folding “S-Bend” armchair that folds upward so that the arms tuck inside the back legs.  A small chest  (1995) with two drawers and an open storage compartment made of beechwood and beech veneer by Japanese designer Tomoko Azumi unhinges and spreads out to form a low writing desk that is used while seated on the floor.  The drawers remain upright and intact in both formations.  There were a couple of cool examples of 3-D laser printed furniture.  The “One-Shot Stool” (2006) by Patrick Jouin is made of nylon with plastic joints that allow it to fold into a narrow cylindrical tube.  It is printed whole as one piece using a technique called laser sintering.   The “Fractal Table” (2007), designed by the London collective “Platform Group”, is made of epoxy and resin is also created through 3-D printing.  The designers used mathematical algorithms to create a design which reproduced the fractal growth patterns found in a dragon tree's branching structure.

One of the largest collections in the V&A seems to be its massive and comprehensive examples of ceramics that span different time periods, design styles and countries of origin.  There are no less than 11 large galleries full of ceramics that felt never-ending.  A multi-tiered “Flower Pyramid” vase (circa 1690) from Delft, Netherlands is made with tin-glazed earthenware painted in the traditional blue and white decorations that Delftware is known for.  Picasso’s “Mounted Cavalier” (1950) earthenware pitcher is painted in black and brown with scratched details depicting the faces of the man and his mount.  The glazed ceramic sculpture (1830) portraying a tiger mauling to death British army Lieutenant Hugh Monro is said to have inspired the famous Tippoo’s Tiger automaton and organ that is on the V&A’s highlights tour.  A set of Russian Revolutionary porcelain plates from St. Petersburg (1921) depict patriotic imagery in painted enamel including the hammer and sickle and inspirational inscriptions such as “Knowledge makes work easier”.  The juxtaposition of the iconic McDonalds “M” in white porcelain (2007) painted with images of Chinese dragons in underglaze blue, acts as a comment on the flood of global brands coming to China.

There were some pretty designs in tableware including the Art Deco-styled (1930)  'Vogue' shaped bone china coffee pot and cups and saucers featuring the 'Sunray' pattern of black and yellow geometric shapes and the triangular handles.   A porcelain plate, cup and saucer decorated in enamel and gold with circular patterns was originally designed by Frank Lloyd Wright in 1922.  Two interestingly shaped teapot-like vessels were the green glazed porcelain (1982) with the handle and tiny spout by Philip Cornelius and the unglazed stoneware “Double cooling towers” teapot (1984) by Richard Notkin.  I liked the bright red “Cornpoppy” flower patterns on the bone china coffee set (1971) made by Wedgewood.  There were also examples of ceramics made to look like other materials, including the very realistic looking “treads of a rubber tire” and the paint-splattered shoes.

In addition to the regular ceramics galleries, one of the rooms featured a special exhibit of the works of Carolein Smith, who typically creates figurative sculptures out of earthenware, often with animal themes.  One such work called “Rascal with Golden Tears” depicts a downcast black and white dog that seems to be crying as gold lustre descends from his eyes while her rat sculpture seems to be holding a string of pearls.  Looking closely, the detail and texture in the “fur” on her animals (all made from clay) is quite incredible.  Smit’s special exhibit was titled “Myth and Mortality” where the figures taking on a more fairytale-like or mythological quality.  Death and decay are a common theme conveyed through renderings of skeletons and flayed bodies which both shock and intrigue.

One of the last displays that we visited was a small glass box containing 16 ceramic poppies from the “Blood Swept Lands and Red Seas” installation by Paul Cummins that graced the Tower of London in 2014 to mark the 100 year anniversary of Britain entering the First World War.  There were 888,246 ceramic poppies planted, each marking a British or Commonwealth military life lost during that war.   While the individual ceramic flowers were beautiful to look at, the true impact of the original installation really became apparent when viewing the photograph of the sea of red poppies installed in front of the Tower of London.  The 16 ceramic poppies on display honour the 16 members of the Victoria and Albert staff who died in the war.

After three visits to the Victoria and Albert over two trips to London, we still have not been able to get through all the different sections of the permanent collection.  Through lack of time and sheer exhaustion, we totally skipped over multiple areas including Asian Art, Architecture, Glass, Theatre and Arts, Lustrous Surfaces, and more.  I guess we will need to return again on our next visit to London and keep knocking off more parts of the museum.  Of course, with the rotating items on display and new special exhibitions, we may never be done!