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Imperial Chinese Robes Exhibition London

Imperial Chinese Robes Exhibition London

When
07 December 2010 -
27 February 2011

10am - 6pm

Where
Victoria and Albert Museum

Nearest Tube
South Kensington

Cost
£3.00-£5.00

Age Restrictions
n/a

A stunning Imperial Chinese Robes exhibition London event takes place at the Victoria and Albert Museum this winter as garments, fabrics and accessories from the Forbidden City Palace Museum go on show here. Showcasing magnificent robes worn by emperors and empresses of the Qing dynasty and others, this is your chance to see up close some rare and impressively worked Chinese robes.

Imperial Chinese Robes exhibition
London is no stranger to fashion exhibitions and the V and A Museum itself is home to a vast collection of historical garments and clothing from all cultural walks of life, but the Imperial Chinese Robes from the Forbidden City is certain to be one of their most impressive exhibitions yet. With over 80 examples of Chinese court fashion on show, the exhibition tells the story of both the public and private lives of its Imperial families and sheds light onto intriguing cultural and historical traditions.

Exhibition highlights
Among the many garments on show at the Imperial Chinese Robes exhibition are gowns designed for everyday life as well as rituals, banquets, travelling, hunting and official royal visits. Fashion fans and Chinese history buffs will be fascinated to see an intricately woven brown gauze robe with golden dragon symbols from the 18th century, and a yellow dragon and phoenix motif red wedding dress worn by Yehe Nara Jingfen for her marriage to the Guangxu emperor in 1889. Both the dragon motif and the specific shade of yellow were the perogative of the emperor for many years, being against for the law for commoners to wear them.

Changing fashions
Visitors to the V and A Museum will be able to chart the changing nature of fashion throughout the course of the Imperial Chinese Robes exhibition with garments dating as far back as 1662. Students of fashion will also be fascinated to know that the royal families had just as strong an influence on the fashion world as they did in the West; when the Empress Dowager Cixi took control on behalf of her six year old son she wore informal robes, leading to a massive increase in female informal dresses in the latter 19th century, all of which were made to incredibly high standards and from very fine material.

An end to the Chinese dynasty
Chinese Imperial rule came to an end in 1912 and once the family had left the Forbidden City Palace in 1924, and all the clothes of the emperor and empress were aquisitioned by the Palace Museum. They are now on display as part of the Imperial Chinese Robes exhibition London event, where they will be seen by members of the public in the UK for the very first time.

The Imperial Chinese Robes exhibition takes place from 10am - 6pm, Tuesday 7th December 2010 - Sunday 27th February 2011 at Victoria and Albert Museum. Tickets are £5.00 or £3.00 concessions.

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