Exhibitions, books, events

Here we'll give you the latest news about exhibitions around the country and further afield, new books and more. Do you know of a good show coming up? Let us know.
Please note - items included here are for your information and are not necessarily endorsed by the C&TA

---

V&A, London

Bags: Inside Out
OPENS NOVEMBER 21

The first-ever made Hermès Birkin bag, owned by Jane Birkin, and Mulberry handbags worn by Kate Moss and Alexa Chung will join almost 300 standout pieces as part of the V&A’s next major fashion exhibition Bags: Inside Out, opening 21 November.

The exhibition will be UK’s most comprehensive exhibition dedicated to the ultimate accessory. From designer handbags to despatch boxes, vanity cases to military rucksacks, it will explore our longstanding fascination with the bag.

Other bags that will feature in the exhibition include a large embroidered burse used to protect the silver matrix of Elizabeth I’s Great Seal of England, a gas mask bag owned by HRH Queen Mary during the Second World War, Winston Churchill’s red despatch box and the Fendi ‘Baguette’ bag worn by and stolen from Sarah Jessica Parker in one of Sex and the City’s most famous scenes.

Actress and singer Jane Birkin and the former executive chairman of Hermès Jean-Louis Dumas met by chance on a flight from Paris to London. Jane complained about how she could not find a bag suitable to carry her belongings and to fit her needs as a young mother. Dumas was inspired to sketch on an aeroplane sickness-bag a supple rectangular holdall with a burnished flap and saddle stitching. The bag was named after Jane and quickly became a sensation by appealing to women who were looking for something spacious and fashionable. 

The Mulberry Bayswater is one of the brand’s most iconic handbags, as popular today as it was when it launched in 2003. Supermodel Kate Moss was one of the bag's first celebrity fans and has carried many different styles and colours over the years - including the example that will feature in the exhibition.

The Alexa, launched in 2010, was inspired by British style icon Alexa Chung who was often photographed carrying a well-loved Mulberry Elkington satchel.

Tickets for the exhibition are on sale now, with the museum also increasing opening hours to 5 days per week (Wednesday – Sunday).

Find out more on the V&A website

Art Nouveau: The Nature of Dreams
JULY 7 - DECEMBER 31

​This exhibition examines the spectacular, and controversial vision of art practice that raged across the Western world from the end of the 19th century: Art Nouveau. The role of nature is another key focus.
​
Artists and designers include René Lalique, Edgar Degas, Charles Rennie Mackintosh, William Morris; Alphonse Mucha and Gabriel Dante Rossetti. It contains more than 150 works of varying sizes, and will be accompanied by a substantial catalogue.

Visit the Sainsbury Centre website ​

---

Textile books from Bloomsbury
A range of new books are on offer from Bloomsbury publishers including Stitching the Self: Identity and the Needle Arts, encyclopedias of Arab and Asian textiles, and several more. The back catalogue of textile history and design is well worth a browse. They aren't cheap - in fact they are very expensive academic tomes - but you might think you deserve a present for putting up with lockdown!
Visit the textiles section of the Bloomsbury website

The Pocket: A Hidden History of Women's Lives, 1660-1900
Barbara Burman and Ariane Fennetaux

Pencils, a sketchbook, cake, yards of stolen ribbon, thimbles, snuff boxes, a picture of a lover, two live ducks: these are just some of the fascinating things carried by women and girls in their tie-on pockets, an essential accessory throughout the 18th and 19th centuries. The authors draw on an unprecedented study of surviving pockets in museums and private collections to identify their materials, techniques, and decoration; their use is investigated through sources as diverse as criminal trials, letters, diaries, inventories, novels, and advertisements. 
Already out in hardback, out in paperback April 2020, price £19.19. Yale Books
      . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

---

Cloth that Changed the World: The Art and Fashion of Indian Chintz
Sarah Fee and Sven Beckert

Chintz, a type of multi-coloured printed or painted cotton cloth, originated in India yet exerted influence far beyond its home shores: it became a driving force of the spice trade in the East Indies, and it attracted European merchants, who by the 17th century were importing millions of pieces. 
Hardback, £35, Yale Books

More books on our reference page

---

---