Africa Fashion

Anna Wintour said hello to me the other day (what a great way to start a piece!). She was visiting the V&A to visit Africa Fashion and that reminded me that I’d taken a whole selection of images and not got round to posting them. I am going to let the images mostly speak for…

Alice: Curiouser & Curiouser

‘Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?’ `That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,’ said the Cat. `I don’t much care where–‘ said Alice. `Then it doesn’t matter which way you go,’ said the Cat. ‘Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland‘ and the sequel ‘Through the…

Lockdown V&A Diary 281-300

Five days into this V&A diary selection, the Museum closed its doors to the public and subsequently the staff. As I write we are all working from home, discovering more and more about the Museum and the wonderful collection we share the building with. This selection has a little bit of a Japanese focus, which…

Kimono: Kyoto to Catwalk

With most of the country heading towards total lockdown and the V&A currently closed, now seems the perfect time to virtually escort you round the wonder that is ‘Kimono: Kyoto to Catwalk‘. A traditional unisex and utilitarian garment, literally meaning ‘thing to wear’, the kimono has over the past four centuries become synonymous with Japan…

V&A Diary 261-280

This next set of 20 images I’ve taken around the Victoria and Albert Museum feature designers and objects close to my heart. The model of the Villa Stein-de Monzie, Garches, France, by Le Corbusier reminds me of my first trip to Paris at the age of 19. I went with my friend James with whom I was…

V&A Diary 241-260

This next set of 20 images I have shot around the Victoria and Albert Museum coincided with Christmas and my first visit to the V&A in Dundee. This wonderful Kengo Kuma designed northern outpost is ‘Moored’ by the Discovery on the Dundee waterfront and the building is an imposing addition to a slightly haphazard skyline. Inspired…

V&A Diary 221-240

Here is the next set of 20 images I have shot around the Victoria and Albert Museum. Two exhibitions feature in this selection, ‘Cars – Accelerating the Modern World‘ and ‘Hope – The Prix Pictet‘, both of which I have written about previously. ‘Cars: Accelerating the Modern World‘ is a great show and runs till…

Cars: Accelerating the Modern World

One of my very earliest memories of my Grandpa, is bringing me a matchbox car  when he came to visit. I amassed a formidable collection of these little metal treats, which would be worth a fortune today, had they not all flown off the top of the stairs (driven by the Dukes of Hazard or…

V&A Diary 201-220

Here is the next set of 20 images I have shot around the Victoria and Albert Museum. I seem to have a had a slight bias towards ceramics and glass this time, with pieces that date back to a floral Iznick vase from 1575 and the beautiful pieces of blanc de chine (looked at in…

V&A Diary 181-200

Here are the next set of images which takes us to 200, and my one year anniversary at the V&A. This set of images coincided with the opening of the exhibition ‘Tim Walker: Wonderful Things‘ and the London Design Festival which filled the V&A with stunning examples of new concepts, prototypes and designs. One exhibit…

V&A Diary 161-180

So this post is very late this time, but I’m using the excuse of turning fifty in the last couple of weeks ago – holidays and celebrations definitely got in the way! One thing I have noticed with this project is that it has really helped my identify areas of design that I am drawn…

Tim Walker: Wonderful Things

As children, we are blessed with unbounded imagination – whole worlds are built in the sandpit, flying cars are born and take flight from the top of the stairs and voodoo dolls are created from cotton and bobbins to exact revenge on our childhood nemeses. As we grow up that spark of imagination is often…