She never visited England but adored all things English, setting the Anglomania trend in late 18th century France. Marie Antoinette, the most famous French queen is featured as a fashion icon in a brilliant exhibition at the V&A in London, Marie Antoinette Style.
It is intriguing to see an English museum curating this exhibit rather than an institution in France where she reigned or in her native Austria. The story of her life and brutal death unfolded here through hundreds beautiful objects is simple yet very grasping.
It starts with a strong accent, a magnificent wedding gown of silver brocaded silk and lace. The gown on display is a copy of a dress worn by the comtesse d’Artois for her wedding in 1773. We have all reasons to believe it was modelled on Marie Antoinette’s wedding gown in 1770, later copied also by the future queen of Sweden for her wedding in 1775. A trendsetter from Day One!
The dress sparkles with silver thread and sits on panier type of petticoat of width close to 3 meters (if not more) and an impressive long train is attached at the back. Truly a fairytale dress that opens the display of French court gowns of late 18th century. All three models are sampled in this room. Robe à la française, robe à anglaise and robe à la polonaise.
Court gowns are followed by furniture and luxurious everyday objects, mostly used at her escape retreat, Petit Trianon.
Marie Antoinette owned an impressive jewelry collection. Some original and some replica pieces are at the V&A including parures (set of matching necklace, earrings and bracelet), rings and brooches. The most spectacular piece is a replica of the necklace from the famous Diamond Necklace Affair in which the French queen was unjustly accused of acquiring the necklace without paying. You can learn more about the affair here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Affair_of_the_Diamond_Necklace. The stolen necklace, with diamonds totaling 2842 carats and the central diamond of about 15 carats, was later taken apart and gems sold on black markets in Paris and London, which recalls empress Eugenia’s jewelry recent theft from the Louvre. Marie Antoinett’s diamonds were incorporated in new objects worn later by the British royalty.
The scandal contributed to the deterioration of queen’s reputation and her next fashion choice did not make things any better. Chemise dresses, made of plain white Indian cotton were the opposite of heavy, richly decorated court dresses. The French public was shocked to see their queen wearing something looking like an underwear, as depicted on the portrait painted by Élisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun. Despite the outrage with the new fashion, Chemise à la Reigne became increasingly popular and several beautiful examples can be seen at the V&A.
Marie Antoinette was beheaded on 16th October 1793 on the charges of high treason and conspiring with foreign powers. She was 37. This last, tragic chapter of her life is told with a few moving artefacts gathered in a narrow corridor. A medallion containing the hair of the queen and her younger son Louis-Charles, a simple linen chemise she probably wore while in the Temple prison, an original guillotine blade, one of hundreds used in France at the time of the Revolution, a final note she wrote on the blank page of her prayer book at 4.30 am on the day of her execution: My God, have pity on me! My eyes have no more tears to cry for you my poor children; adieu, adieu!
When still alive she was widely criticized, openly disliked and cruelly mocked in a series of caricatures also included in the exhibition. The quote she is most famous for, let them eat cakes, is now questioned by historians and seems to be a fake news. There is no record of her ever saying it. Instead, we know exactly what her final words were. When she stepped on her executioner’s foot she said: Pardon me sir, I didn’t do that on purpose.
Black PR marked most of her reign. Today’s historians discover she was certainly not half as morally rotten and detached as the public was led to believe.
Contrary to the intensions of her critics, Marie Antoinette became a legend soon after her death, her style iconic, recognizable and copied. The cultural ambience of the 19th century was strongly in her favor. Romanticism contributed to building her image as a tragic heroine, an ill-fated queen. On the other hand, eclectic aesthetics of the 19th century enabled the aspiring bourgeois to recreate her style in dresses, architecture and interiors. Not to mention rising popularity of fancy costume balls.
This chapter of the exhibition presents gowns inspired by Marie Antoinette. From the 19th century dress worn by empress Eugenia, fancy dress costume from the House of Worth, 1920s evening gown by Jeanne Lanvin to contemporary designs.
The final room is dedicated to late 20th and early 21st century fashion drawn on the French queen and to her image in popular culture. The central piece here is 1998 John Galliano’s gown (for Christan Dior). A spectacular silk taffeta dress on large crinoline that connects with the silver wedding dress in the first room, the past with the present, the opening and the end of the exhibition. It stands next to other design by John Galliano and Maria Grazia Chiuri as well as film costumes from Sofia Copppla’s film Marie Antoinette (2006) designed by Milena Cannonero for which she won an Oscar.
Marie Antoinette remains one of the strongest fashion icons reinterpreted by each generation of artists. “… rare combination of glamour, spectacle and tragedy remains as intoxicating today as it was in the 18th century… ….her aesthetics has evolved from a symbol of opulence to one of mischief, femininity, daring sexuality and allure. Says the last text panel.
The exhibition is superb and I feel so lucky to have been able to see it!