Exhibiting Fashion: Before and After 1971

Coauthors Clark and de le Haye, former curators at the Victoria & Albert Museum (V&A) and instructors at the London College of Fashion, provide a convincing case that 1971 was a turning point in the exhibition of fashion. That year saw the seminal exhibit Cecil Beaton's Fashion: An Anthology at the V&A, a show that was radical for its inclusion of contemporary couture clothing donated by Cecil Beaton's socialite friends as well as innovative designers. The authors use this exhibition and the museum's 1946 Britain Can Make It show to frame a history of museological trends regarding decisions of dress, mannequin, and mise-en-scène styling. The volume includes a history of display prior to 1971, a reconstruction and analysis of the Beaton exhibition, and an illustrated inventory of fashion shows worldwide from the Seventies to the present. While the use of page and type color to demarcate the text's organization favors visual interest over readability, students should not be put off by this—the work provides a scholarly and multifaceted perspective on a watershed event in fashion exhibition.