A video of the gallery space “Exhibition Road Quarter” designed by Amanda Levete for the Victoria & Albert Museum in London.

Fashion is, by necessity, an obsession for Fausto Puglisi, who designs his own label. Here he waxes lyrical about the wonder of Italian craftsmanship – something he sees as intrinsically connected to Italian society. But it is all underpinned by the opening statement: “To be proud to be Italian means to go out and discover new things”. An attitude that took Puglisi to Berlin’s S&M scene and then back to Tuscany’s leatherworkers.

In June 1999, Alexander McQueen’s Spring/Summer 1999 collection was the subject of the V&A’s very first Fashion in Motion live catwalk event. In this film from the time, the visionary designer discusses his relationship with the Museum and the public’s reaction to his designs.

Fashion in Motion is a series of live catwalk events presented at the V&A. Featuring some of the greatest designers of our time, Fashion in Motion brings catwalk couture to a wider audience by modelling it against the beautiful backdrop of the Museum.

Transcript:
You come from just everything around you, it’s a state of mind, it’s the state of society today. You know, I can’t be so literal with my references. I think it’s a number of references culminating together to make one idea.

It’s mainly to do with the end result as an image, and hopefully a lasting image. You know, I don’t like throwaway images, I like things to be stuck in the mind of people. Maybe that’s why my work can sometimes come across as aggressive or violent. Because maybe the world to me is a bit violent.

It’s so big. It’s the sort of place I’d like to be shut in over night. With no tourists…. [laughs} sorry.

When I was at St Martins, studying for a masters degree there, I used to go in there at least once a week to go through the archives. I remember going through rooms to set up the exhibition, and there was things I’d never even saw before. Like colossal statues.

They say “you can’t wear it down Sainsbury’s can you?” is the usual comment. I think they’ve got to really understand that as a designer, it’s not just about what you see on everyday people, its about furthering people’s imaginations into shape, proportion and colour.

For me, my basis for anything I do is based on a craftsmanship, be it tailoring. be it woodwork, or be it anything else, you know. I try to involve a lot of hand-crafted things.

It would be nice to get it across to the general public exactly how a metaphor turns into a reality. Look at the silhouette and think about days before, days in the future, you know, just try to think not so closed-visioned really.

I think the people who see the clothes, see the video and see the mannequin on the turntable just taking reflection that if I gave you Marks and Spencers would you look twice? That’s fashion really. Fashion turns at such a fast pace, that I think you’ve just got to have a bit of an open mind and not be so judgemental, I think. Just educate yourself into the world of Alexander McQueen [laughs]

Go behind the scenes as we prepare for the opening of the Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty exhibition

Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty
In partnership with Swarovski
14 March – 2 August 2015

Alexander McQueen was one of the most innovative designers of his generation and celebrated for his extraordinary creative talent. This spectacular exhibition is the only major retrospective of McQueen’s work to be presented in Europe and showcases the best of his creative output of womenswear from his 1992 Central Saint Martin’s postgraduate collection to his A/W 2010 collection which was unfinished at the time of his death.
vam.ac.uk/savagebeauty

Supported by American Express
With thanks to M.A.C Cosmetics
Technology partner Samsung

Luxury womenswear label Peter Pilotto was the subject of the V&A’s Fashion in Motion which took place on Friday 20 November 2015. Initially founded by Austrian-Italian Peter Pilotto, Belgian-Peruvian Christopher De Vos joined the label in 2007. The duo met studying at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp and now base their label in London. This video takes a look behind the scenes at the catwalk event.

vam.ac.uk/fashioninmotion

The V&A’s collection of Japanese art and design is one of the largest in Britain. Curators of the V&A’s Toshiba Gallery of Japanese Art select some of the highlights from the renowned collections including a samurai sword and a kimono which celebrates air travel.
For more information visit: vam.ac.uk/japan

Recreating a figure from a Chinese painting in the gongbi style. Gongbi paintings are characterised by meticulous brushwork and highly coloured palettes.

Chinese ink is made in a solid form, and needs to be ground and mixed with water. A full-size line drawing, known in Chinese as huago, is made on paper with a brush and ink. The outline of the figure is carefully drawn.

A piece of silk is selected for its weave and texture. Raw silk is non-absorbent, so it needs to be treated in a process called sizing. A solution of glue and alum is used to make the ink pigments stick to the silk. The ratio of glue and alum must be carefully balanced. Too much alum makes the surface difficult to paint, but too little means that pigments will not adhere properly. The solution is spread with a flat brush. The silk is stretched over a board or stretcher with paste. When the treated silk has dried, it is ready for painting.

The silk is placed over the drawing and the lines are carefully traced with ink. The artist can change the weight of the line by varying the pressure. Because silk is thin, colour needs to be built up through a process called tuose. An even layer of paint is applied to the back of the work. White pigment is usually used. Darker pigment is used for the dark areas.

After the paint on the back has dried, the front is ready to be painted. First a base layer is painted. Colour pigments are prepared one by one. The painter carefully fills in the smaller areas. Two brushes are used to create colour washes. Layers of light wash are applied over painted areas until the artist gets the right tone. The process of building up colour and creating the right tone is painstaking and can take a long time. Fine details such as facial features and clothing patterns can now be added. The figure’s outline is accentuated with black ink or colour for the final time.

Watch this video and find out about one of our recent DesignLab projects, a collaboration between V&A Schools, Heatherwick Studio and Whitecross High School in Hereford. The project aimed to showcase Heatherwick Studio’s extraordinary and cross-disciplinary approach to working, as well as model how to use the V&A’s collections to answer contemporary design briefs.

DesignLab is a programme of projects that explore new ways of engaging students with design. It brings schools together with museum educators, practising designers and the museum’s collections to work on projects and engage in CPD activities.

Students acquire new and transferable skills, knowledge, curiosity and tons of inspiration. Teachers’ classroom practice and creativity is enriched through access to working with contemporary creative practitioners, museum staff and the V&A’s unrivalled collection of art, design and performance.

DesignLab aims to inspire a new generation of creative practitioners as well as broaden young people’s understanding of the designed world around them, how it is made and its impact on society and the environment.

A three screen film installation for the Power Of Making exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum. A collaboration between the V&A and the Crafts Council, the exhibition presented 100 crafted objects in a cabinet of curiosities that explored traditional and time-honoured ways of making, as well as innovations taking place around the world. From 6 September 2011 to 2 January 2012, with 320,000 visitors made Power of Making the most visited free exhibition ever staged at the V&A.

CREDITS

Director / Camera: Juriaan Booij
Client: Victoria and Albert Museum / Crafts Council
Commissioning Editor: Daniel Charny
Editor: Mark Whelan
Sound Design / Music: Filipe Sousa
Camera Assistant: Tania Freimuth
Sound Recordists: Matthew Hansell and Stephen Partington
With thanks to Priya Sundram

With special thanks to

Coventry Prototype Panels
Eleanor Pritchard Woven Textile Design
Ndidi Ekubia Silversmith
Sebastian Tarek Bespoke Shoes
David Carpenter, Moorfields Eye Hospital
Industrial Facility Design Studio
Mattiazzi SpA. Furniture Manufacturers
Watson Bros. Gun & Rifle Manufacturers
Stewart Hearn, London Glassworks
WAH Nail Art
Nigel Semmens Surfboards
Ron Arad Design Studio

Format: HD / 16:9
Commissioned for Power of Making
2011

http://www.vam.ac.uk

The Exhibition Road project will provide a new entrance, courtyard and purpose-built subterranean gallery for temporary exhibitions showcasing the best of contemporary design, as well as celebrating the beauty of the V&A’s existing structure. This short film takes a look at the current work and progress of the build happening on site.

For more details about the Exhibition Road project please visit: vam.ac.uk/page/e/exhibition-road-building-project/

An inside view of the Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty exhibition including interviews with Claire Wilcox, Katy England and Sean Leane.

Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty
In partnership with Swarovski
14 March – 2 August 2015

Alexander McQueen was one of the most innovative designers of his generation and celebrated for his extraordinary creative talent. This spectacular exhibition is the only major retrospective of McQueen’s work to be presented in Europe and showcases the best of his creative output of womenswear from his 1992 Central Saint Martin’s postgraduate collection to his A/W 2010 collection which was unfinished at the time of his death.
vam.ac.uk/savagebeauty

Supported by American Express
With thanks to M.A.C Cosmetics
Technology partner Samsung