First look at DIVA at the V&A
Inside London's most glamorous new fashion exhibition
You’ve got to love a diva and this summer’s blockbuster new fashion exhibition at London’s V&A museum, does just that.
DIVA is a celebration of the mega-stars of stage, screen and music and it’s a fabulous day out. Last week, I was lucky to have one of the first looks at this dazzling exhibition, which opened last weekend. It has frocks and memorabilia belonging to everyone from Maria Callas to Marilyn Monroe, Elizabeth Taylor to Tina Turner.
It’s a multi-media experience as visitors wear sonic headphones which really brings to life the exhibit – you can hear the stars’ voices, stories and songs, as you wander along and gaze at the gowns.
The exhibition is in three acts – Act One is all about the rise of the stars, from the first opera divas Adelina Patti and Jenny Lind in the 19th century, to Victorian stage actors Ellen Terry and Sarah Bernhardt and silent movie stars Mary Pickford and Clara Bow.
It then segues into the golden age of Hollywood and this was my favourite part. I loved seeing items like Ingrid Bergman’s costume from 1948’s Joan of Arc, Carole Lombard’s stunning peach silk gown from 1934’s We’re Not Dressing and Vivien Leigh’s red Dior gown she sported in the 1958 play Duel of Angels. Other stand-outs are a black dress worn by Marilyn Monroe in Some Like It Hot and Elizabeth Taylor’s 1963 Cleopatra costume.
Act Two is upstairs, where the diva really comes into her own in an explosion of sequins and stars. You can see Cher’s flamboyant stage costumes, Tina Turner’s 1975 dress with wings she wore in Tommy and even Elton John’s Louis XIV outfit he wore for his 50th birthday. There are dresses and items belonging to everyone from Liza Minnelli to Lizzo, Diana Ross and Debbie Harry to Doja Cat, Adele to Prince and Tina Turner to Lady Gaga.
You look up for Act Three, which is projected into the domes of the beautiful building, showing the divas of past, present and future. Curator Kate Bailey, who has worked on the exhibition for five years, said she wanted to reclaim the notion of diva to something positive. It’s a story of “iconic performers who, with creativity, courage and ambition, challenged the status quo,” she said.
She definitely succeeded - it’s quite a poignant exhibition, particularly the displays of those who struggled behind their success, including Amy Winehouse, Whitney Houston and Edith Piaf. But you get the feeling that like the French songstress, they’d all say, “je ne regrette rien.”
Diva is on now, until April 2024, visit vam.ac.uk