You wouldn’t even dream of showing up at a wedding of the Royal Family or any other event of British High Society without wearing a hat, a mere hairstyle just won’t do. In cases of urgent necessity, there are plenty of prestigious designers capable of solving any and all such problems - from the haute couture creations of hat designer Philip Tracey to the jewels of Laura Catchart, there’s plenty to choose. To start learning a bit more and prepare yourself, all you need to do is take a look at the website of the Victoria & Albert Museum and have a look at its historic hat collection (exclusively online) which spans an amazing 17 centuries. What you discover is that the mere hat does not exist - there are more than you could ever imagine, an infinite number of shapes, all satisfying the most far-flung needs and tastes. You’ll never again think of the hat as a simple accessory. Its magic, its charm, it all depends on the power to transmit messages of authority, affiliation, individuality, property, rebellion and, of course, style.
Emily Kame Kngwarreye is one of the world's leading painters to emerge in the late 20th century, her lived experience and spiritual engagement with her homeland translated into vibrant batiks and later monumental canvas paintings.
Elevating fashion and portrait photography to an art form, Cecil Beaton's photographs defined an era, capturing beauty, glamour and star power in the interwar and postwar eras.
Marking the 250th anniversary of their births, a landmark exhibition explores the intertwined lives and legacies of Turner and Constable, two of the most important 19th-century British landscape painters.