If you’re a dedicated follower of fashion, only a collection as rich and varied as the Victoria and Albert Museum’s, containing works by the world’s top fashion designers, could inspire you. Histories of 20th century dress and monographs on individual designers include details of fabric, construction and trimming. Close-up views reveal the intricate skill, detail and fine workmanship of high fashion. Visitors often spend many fascinating hours examining the complexity of each ensemble.

Clothes by leading international couturiers form the core of the museum’s collection. These works represent high notes of achievement, where a designer’s vision has been realised in luxury fabrics by highly skilled seamstresses, tailors, embroiderers and finishers. Most of the images and interpretations offer the onlooker a reverse perspective through the couture procedure, travelling from a detail of the final work back through finishing, construction, cutting, calico toile, fabric choice and, where possible, to the designer’s original concept.

To capture the shift in tradition, which occurred in the 1960s, the Victoria & Albert Museum has also acquired clothes, which, irrespective of standard of construction and finish, are deemed to be setting the ‘alternative’ fashionable pace. These youth culture creations often reflect developments in popular music and are indicative of art acting as the mirror of a specific culture. The pattern of fashion often operates in a cyclical manner and these street styles continue to inspire fashion’s mainstream.

The exceptionally fashionable woman of the early 1900s changed throughout the day from one lavish outfit to another. Her clothes were constructed by skilled seamstresses and embroideresses and each garment was a highly skilled creation both in construction and decoration of ornate concoctions – skills still required in the ateliers of today’s great embroidery and couture workshops. However, once urban living increased its pace, the world changed to one where speed and accessibility became key elements in our daily lives.

Modern living has developed into a throw-away society where things are made to be replaced. Most clothing produced is low cost and has a short life span. When a fashion has waned or a garment is past its best it is simply thrown out. The quick-turnover high street market feeds on mass production in which, to ensure survival, the depth of every seam and every element of trimming is calculated, cosseted and minimised.

Mass Production

Dictated by practicalities and budget most women’s wardrobes contain mass-produced or limited edition day clothes with perhaps one or two ‘special occasion’ dresses. On the whole, women buy ready-to wear garments in which cost has necessarily limited the quality of finish and decoration; fabrics are used that will withstand the washer, tumble dryer and dry cleaners and therefore are of inferior quality.

Attitudes to everyday wear have changed radically this century. Of necessity, during wartime the flow of fashion was interrupted and woman had to ‘mend and make do’. Ideas of clothes lasting and being repaired is not really a reality for today’s consumer, and even slightly damaged garments are consigned to the rubbish bin, or sent to charity and second hand shops. This fact is just one of the reasons why the level of craftsmanship in the garments showcased at the museum is such a treasure. Many clothes in the Victoria & Albert Museum were custom made by couturiers for important clients, and, though worn infrequently, were impeccably cared for by maids. As special creations representing high points in design and construction they were treasured by their owners and eventually donated to the Museum to ensure their preservation.

The Trimmings Industry

The V&A collection also highlights a vital area of the fashion business that is often overlooked – the trimmings industry. Traditionally the manufacture or import of items such as buttons, beads sequins, fastenings, belts, buckles and fashion findings has been undertaken by small scale, specialised companies. Haberdashery and trimming catalogues dating from before World War II illustrate some of the hidden delights of fashion.