Exhibition: The Fabric of India

As you know I visited the V&A recently, on my trip I also went to the The Fabric of India Exhibition. This exhibition was all about the fabric from over the last 600 years, the techniques used in order to create the fabric, dyes and other skills such as embellishment. As an ex-textiles student, I thought it would be a good idea to go to this exhibition as I used some of these techniques for my portfolio for GCSE and A Level. When you first enter the exhibition, you are presented with two models wearing dresses, one being the dress shown below, made by the designer Manish Arora. When I saw this, I was shocked to see the amount of detail, colour and thought put into the dress. After being presented with the outfit, I was excited to look around the rest of the exhibition because if this was just the entrance, what would be inside.

Photo Credit - Google Images

But, when walking around the exhibition, I felt like there was a lack of creativity and although it was very informative, there was't anything that stood out to me amongst the fabric and techniques. At the very end of the exhibition, there was a small room and this was my last hope for the original creativity that I was searching for. Then I spotted this outfit!

Photo Credit - Chloe Ferdinand

Manish Arora uses ancient methods and modern materials to create a new spin on Indian fashion. I thought the skirt was beautiful, beside the model there was a video that showed how the outfit was made. Manish Arora has a signature colour palette of pink and gold that he uses all the time, the skirt of this outfit shows his trademark off well. With his mix of cultural and contemporary designs, he has been featured in many magazine such as V Magazine, Vogue and Elle. As well as his own creations he has collaborated with other companies such as MAC Cosmetics, Swarovski and Reebok. Katy Perry has been lucky enough to wear one of Arora's creations on stage for one of her tours.

Photo Credit - Google Images

It is clear to see the Manish Arora has a distinct style and when you see a product designed by him, you know who designed it. I also think it is very important for designers to collaborate with other sectors because it becomes a challenge for them and opens their designs up to other audiences who may not specifically follow fashion.

Watch out for other designers that experiment with collaborations!

Exhibition: Shoes, Pleasure and Pain

The V&A always hold such a great range of interesting exhibitions aimed at young creatives. When I saw the title for the current exhibition, Shoes, Pleasure and Pain, I was excited to see the selection of shoes as shoes are definitely my weakness. I thought the exhibition would display hundreds of shoes ranging from different eras. The exhibition did look at footwear from different eras but also footwear from all around the world, ranging from intricate details to elaborate contemporary shoes. Lots of the shoes came with background cultural information and part of the exhibition focused on the development of specific types of shoes. 

There were 5 main sections; transformation, status, seduction, creation and obsession. The section that caught my attention most was seduction as it was interesting to see how different cultures interpreted a "seductive shoe" and foot size. For example, in China, to have small feet has always been seen as seductive and attractive. Foot binding is a process that began in the 10th century where women would practise binding their feet so they would eventually stop growing because they thought it would make them more beautiful and appealing to men. Young girls would wrap their feet tightly in bandages so their feet would stop developing and therefore naturally stop growing. Many shoes in the exhibition were tiny and didn't look like they would fit any adults foot, they looked like shoes for dolls. Personally, I think the size of the shoes are ridiculous and are not even the slightest bit attractive or beautiful. If I am completely honest, I didn't find many of the shoes that beautiful, they were completely different to the shoes sold in shops now and didn't appeal to my personal taste, but that just shows how shoes/trends vary with the era, culture and person. After the exhibition it made me think of all my shoes and which ones I would consider as my favourite. However, I struggled with this because I found a reason for each of my shoes... The type of shoe you wear is very important as they can make you feel completely different. For example, trainers, make you feel comfortable and chilled, whereas in heels, normally your posture changes and you carry yourself in a different way.

What are your favourite shoes and why?

Photo Credit - Chloe Ferdinand