I was very excited to learn today that some of the world's most striking fashion images will be displayed in Dundee. Later this year, the major V&A exhibition, Selling Dreams: One Hundred Years of Fashion Photography, will come to The McManus: Dundee's Art Gallery and Museum as part of the V&A Dundee project.
The exhibition features photographs by some of the fashion industry's most successful photographers including Irving Penn, Richard Avedon (one of my personal favourites), Helmut Newton (he's the raunchy one) and David Bailey, as well as Corinne Day (who catapulted Kate Moss to supermodel stardom), Rankin (he was inducted into the Scottish Fashion Awards Hall of Fame in 2011), Tim Walker and the amazing Steven Meisel, who has photographed over 300 covers for Vogue Italia, as well as shooting campaigns for Versace, Valentino, Dolce & Gabbana and Calvin Klein, along with album covers for Madonna and Mariah Carey.
Susanna Brown, Curator of Photographs at the V&A, said, "This exhibition brings together diverse works by more than twenty leading image-makers and will include some wonderful iconic images as well as rarely exhibited photographs from the V&A collection."
This is really exciting for Dundee, a city that should be attracting as much attention as possible during the lead up to the opening of the V&A at Dundee. The city's Lord Provost, Bob Duncan, agreed: “I am pleased to see the close partnership with the V&A is yet again bringing an outstanding exhibition to Dundee.”
As someone who lives in the Dundee area, I hope that the city celebrates what is sure to be an outstanding exhibition - this is an exhibition that has been displayed at the V&A in London and it is wonderful news that it will now be shared outside of the UK's fashion capital. Dundee should be very proud, but I hope the city remembers to make the most out of what will undoubtedly attract fashion and photography fans from across the country.
Philip Long, Director of V&A at Dundee, said, “The style and glamour of fashion has attracted the world's best photographers for nearly as long as the history of photography itself. `Selling Dreams’ is a fabulous opportunity to see some of these most iconic images, as well as discover lesser known ones from the V&A's superlative collections.”
It certainly is a fabulous opportunity, especially for those living in Scotland who can't always make the trip to London for V&A exhibitions. For students of art, fashion or photography, this is a definite must-see, while Scottish style bloggers and fashion writers will surely make a point of visiting Dundee for 'Selling Dreams'. I think that most people will enjoy the exhibition, which will showcase some of the most iconic images from around the world - fashion aside. I've already made plans to go and I can't wait to be able to see a V&A fashion exhibition only six miles from my home.
Selling Dreams: One Hundred Years of Fashion Photography will be exhibited from 28th September 2012 to 6th January 2013.
Image credit:
Ronald Traeger, Twiggy wears Twiggy Dresses Battersea Park, London. Unpublished Fashion Study for British Vogue, Young Idea, July 1967
© Estate of Ronald Traeger / Victoria and Albert Museum, London
