Discover Functional Dress
Discover a Future Collection
Discover British Designers
Discover New Content
Discover Body and Beauty
Discover Textiles
Body Armor
In an era when physicians had not yet discovered how to tackle infections and surgery, body armors would rapidly develop and improve as new weapons were invented. In return, weapons would then be created to defeat newly improved armors - a fascinating cycle that would also be highly dependent on the technological advances of its time.
(Image © V&A Museum)
CoPA Commercial Pattern Archive
Announcing a partnership to distribute the CoPA archive of patterns through a Berg Fashion Library module, launching 2012. The Commercial Pattern Archive database allows researchers and designers to recreate or date clothing from 1868 to 2000. CoPA-Online contains over 50,000 images (garments and pattern schematics) from 42,000 commercially produced patterns. Image © CoPA
Vivienne Westwood
From irreverent and confrontational street wear to traditional British fabrics and sophisticated takes on classical references, Vivienne Westwood has become one of the most notorious and controversial British designers of her time.
Discover the making of the Dame of British Fashion.
(Image © V&A Images/V&A Museum)
Costa Rica
In our new online exclusive, read about Costa Rican dress: from this pre-Columbian alligator deity pendant, through the influence of the Spanish conquest and attempts to eliminate native dress, to the concern for a clean and modest personal appearance which resonates through Costa Rican society today.
Jewelry
Like dress, jewelry belongs to particular cultural bodily techniques whose interpretation depends on culture, time, and space.
However, clothing and jewelry differ profoundly in regard to their practices and meaning, often going beyond just the creation of a visual mapping of the body.
Silk
Silk, a natural fiber produced from silkworms, is not native to Europe. Of all natural fibers, silk has most preserved its exotic connotations: sensual, rich in texture, and unique for its shine. Natural silk remains the most appreciated fiber not just in Europe but globally.
(Image © V&A Museum)
