From April to September, London’s Victoria and Albert Museum will be hosting an exhibition examining the meaning and the history of luxury via a series of over 100 rare objects.
In a world of billion dollar fashion brands, the V&A’s ‘What is Luxury?’ aims to challenge our definitions of what luxury means and how it relates to our everyday lives.
Key pieces in the exhibition include the Space Travellers’ Watch, an entirely handcrafted mechanical timepiece by renowned British watchmaker George Daniels, a laser-cut haute couture dress by Dutch fashion designer Iris van Herpen, and a Bubble Bath necklace by Nora Fok, made from more than 1000 hand-knitted nylon bubbles.
More conceptual pieces include American artist Gabriel Barcia-Colombo’s DNA Vending Machine which contains pre-packaged DNA and questions whether in the future owning your own DNA will be a luxury.
“As its title suggests, the exhibition questions the very idea of luxury today,” explains V&A curator of Contemporary Furniture Jana Scholze, who co-curated the exhibition with visiting research fellow Leanne Wierzba. “It will challenge common interpretations of luxury, invite close examination of luxury production and extend ideas of what luxury can be. Essentially, the question of luxury is a personal one.”
‘What is Luxury?’ is the third in a series of joint V&A and Crafts Council, following ‘Out of the Ordinary’ in 2007 and ‘The Power of Making’ in 2011, and the free exhibition will take place in the museum’s Porter Gallery from April 25 to September 27.
