British Design and... Ballgowns!

One of the current exhibitions at the Victoria and Albert museum, British Design: Innovation in the Modern Age, explores British design from 1948 (when London last hosted the Olympic Games) to 2012 to obviously coincide with this years sporting juggernaut. The exhibition also includes art, by artists such as Henry Moore and Richard Hamilton.

These are my highlights from this comprehensive survey:

Three Hollow Men (Maquette for Stabile) (1951), Lynn Chadwick

Family Group (1954), Henry Moore

Root (1977), Monica Poole

 Design for a Poster Map of Tolkiens Middle Earth (1971), Pauline Baynes

Here is a Lush Situation (1958), Richard Hamilton

Pictured above is the atmospheric and very 1960's Thermodynamic (October 1960), by Terence Donovan.

Mick Jagger (on the right in the artwork below) leaving court after being charged with a drug offence:

Swingeing London 67(f) (1968-9), Richard Hamilton

Tulle Dress (2011), Hussein Chalayan

Dress from Horn of Plenty Collection A/W 2009-10, Alexander McQueen

 Sleeve for Unknown Pleasures by Joy Division (1979), Peter Saville

One of the very few occasions where I have considered a car design beautiful:

Jaguar E-Type Series 1 (1961), Malcolm Sayer

Styrene (2003) Paul Cocksedge

http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/exhibitions/exhibition-british-design/

Another exhibition at the V and A is the Ballgowns: British Glamour since 1950.

I like the interesting design of the top half of this (silk, satin and velvet) ballgown (1991) by

Anouska Hempel:

As is often the case in exhibitions at this museum, I like how this show is curated. The top floor of the exhibition is reached by climbing an elaborate staircase and pictured below is how most of the more contemporary ballgowns are displayed upstairs:

http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/exhibitions/ballgowns/