V&A Exhibition Celebrates Marie Antoinette’s Impact on Fashion

The Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) has launched a new exhibition titled Marie Antoinette Style, which aims to redefine the legacy of France’s last queen. Rather than portraying her as merely a symbol of extravagance, the exhibition highlights her significant contributions as a patron of the arts. While showcasing her impressive sartorial choices, the exhibition also underscores a concerning trend in the modern fashion industry: a lack of originality.

The exhibition, sponsored by Manolo Blahnik, immerses visitors in a lavish experience that echoes the opulence associated with Marie Antoinette. Despite her historical reputation, which includes spending over £2.5 million in today’s currency on clothing, the displays reveal her nuanced relationship with fashion. Each room is dedicated to different periods of her life, featuring her garments, jewellery, and even scented replicas of sculptures by Jean-Antoine Houdon. For instance, the “Masquerade Ball” room is infused with the aromas of beeswax candles and oak, while the “Conciergerie Prison Cell” evokes a much less pleasant scent profile of mildew and sewage.

At the entrance, a grand corset-like bodice greets attendees, echoing current trends on runways and fast-fashion platforms. Further along, visitors can admire extravagant bow-shaped jewellery, displayed for the first time since her passing 232 years ago, which has made a resurgence in today’s coquette aesthetic.

One of the exhibition’s most poignant areas reflects on Marie Antoinette’s final days. A garnet-coloured wall features a line from a letter dated October 6, 1793, by her sister Maria Carolina, Queen of Naples: “Everything that ends her torture is good.” The display includes a replica of the guillotine blade believed to have been used in her execution and her prayer book with her heart-wrenching final note: “My God, have pity on me! My eyes have no more tears to cry for you my poor children; adieu! Adieu!” This stark contrast underscores her fall from opulence to despair, symbolized by a simple linen chemise, a common undergarment for French women of her era.

The second part of the exhibition delves into the enduring influence of Marie Antoinette’s style, showcasing elements such as corsetry and cornflower prints. The final room features John Galliano‘s Marquise Masquée gown from Dior’s spring 1998 Couture collection, a striking piece in pastel green silk taffeta. Alongside it, designs inspired by Marie Antoinette from various contemporary designers, including Moschino and Vivienne Westwood, illustrate her lasting impact on fashion.

Fashion cycles through trends, as evidenced by the resurgence of styles from the 1970s and early 2000s. Yet, the exhibition raises an important critique: has the modern fashion industry reached a point of diminishing originality? While the beauty of Rococo and Baroque styles is celebrated, they frequently follow a framework established by Marie Antoinette, a woman whose fashion choices embodied unattainable luxury.

The legacy of Marie Antoinette continues to inspire, with her influence evident in today’s clothing options that are merely imitations of the past. For instance, Empress Eugenie once commissioned a dress from the same fabric featured in Marie Antoinette’s wardrobe, illustrating the queen’s lasting mark on fashion history.

Despite the creativity that fashion represents, the current landscape often feels repetitive, relying heavily on past inspirations. As the exhibition suggests, it may be time to reflect on the originality of contemporary fashion. The possibility of a future exhibition dedicated to collaborations like Balenciaga X Crocs raises questions about today’s fashion narrative.

The V&A exhibition serves as a reminder that while Marie Antoinette’s legacy is rich in beauty and craftsmanship, the modern fashion world appears to have lost its innovative edge. The cycle of imitation continues, raising the concern that in a realm meant for self-expression, true originality has become a rarity.