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Fashioning Masculinities: The Art of Menswear
A comprehensive and often surprising overview of what 'menswear' actually means now and how far it's come
The Telegraph
At a moment of unprecedented creativity in men's fashion and reflection on gender, this exhibition explores how designers, tailors and artists – and their clients and sitters – have constructed and performed masculinity, and unpicked it at the seams.
In partnership with
Founded in Florence in 1921, Gucci is one of the world's leading luxury fashion brands, part of the global luxury group Kering. Under the Creative Direction of Alessandro Michele, with Marco Bizzarri as President and Chief Executive, the House redefined Fashion with a rule-breaking approach, celebrating creativity, innovation, and self-expression.
Exhibition Highlights
Events
Features
Inside the Fashioning Masculinities exhibition
Take a look inside our first major exhibition to celebrate the art of menswear
Sew your own: customisable shirt
Create your own stylish shirt inspired by fashions through the ages
In the pink: colour in menswear
Discover the dazzling spectrum of colours in menswear throughout history
Fashion design: Priya Ahluwalia
"One of the most important outfits in a man's wardrobe is a tracksuit"
Fashion design: Rahemur Rahman
Sustainable, ethical fashion, "for people who dream in colour"
Fashion design: Samuel Ross / A-COLD-WALL*
Clothing as "armour for the now", or architecture for the body
Fashion design: Edward Crutchley
Sumptuous and subversive fashions which disregard gender
A brief history of men's underwear
From ruffle-fronted shirts, to Y-fronts, jock-straps and Calvin Kleins, explore the hidden history of men's underwear
About the Fashioning Masculinities exhibition
Find out about the first major V&A exhibition to celebrate the art of menswear
Design and make a spectacular party outfit
Design a party outfit inspired by the shapes and patterns of men's fashion through the ages
Grinling Gibbons' limewood cravat
'Deconstructing' Grinling Gibbons' carved limewood cravat
Fashion in Motion: Harris Reed
Harris Reed showcased gender-fluid highlights from his collections
The Almain Armourers’ Album
One of the Museum's great Elizabethan treasures, this book of armour designs charts some of the most spectacular armour ever made
V&A shop
Elizabethan Man by Luke Edward Hall print – limited edition
Inspired by the V&A’s world-renowned collection of historical men’s fashion, this print is a limited edition of 250, embossed with a V&A limited edition stamp
£150.00 Buy
Luke Edward Hall Romantic Roses tote bag
This cotton tote bag unites influences from the charm of 17th-century romanticism to the glamour of the Bright Young Things of the 1920s
£18.00 Buy
Adonis by Luke Edward Hall print – limited edition
Inspired by the V&A’s collection of sculptural male forms, this print was created to accompany the exhibition 'Fashioning Masculinities: The Art of Menswear'.
£150 Buy
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Teachers' resource
Encourage students to develop critical, creative, and collaborative thinking skills on the themes of menswear and gender
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Fashioning Masculinities: The Art of Menswear
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