The V&A’s new exhibition sets out to prove that Marie Antoinette was a serious patron of the arts, not just a frivolous spendthrift. But while “Marie Antoinette Style” shows the last queen of France’s impressive sartorial legacy, it also drives home the depressing fact that the modern fashion world lacks originality.
As expected of a multi-sensory exhibition sponsored by Manolo Blahnik and focused on a historical figure associated with excess (while Antoinette never actually said “let them eat cake”, as queen she spent over £2.5m in today’s money on clothing) the displays are rich and decadent.
Each room explains a different period of her life using her dress, jewellery and even scented replicas of Jean-Antoine Houdon’s busts of the queen. Masquerade Ball smells of beeswax candles, oak and body odour, while, less pleasantly, Conciergerie Prison Cell has notes of mildew, sewage and juniper.
Welcoming you to the exhibition is the grand corps – a corset-like bodice that now dominates runways and fast-fashion websites alike. Further along you find extravagant bow-shaped jewellery (exhibited for the first time since her death 232 years ago) that is back in vogue with the rise of the coquette aesthetic.
The smallest room of the exhibition explores the queen’s last days. On the garnet-coloured wall there’s a line from a letter sent on 6 October 1793 by Maria Carolina, the Queen of Naples, and Antoinette’s older sister: “Everything that ends her torture is good”. Directly in front of the entrance hangs the guillotine blade thought to have been used in Antoinette’s beheading. In one display is her prayer book with her final note: “My God, have pity on me! My eyes have no more tears to cry for you my poor children; Adieu! Adieu!” There’s also a simple linen chemise, a typical undergarment worn by all Frenchwomen – a reminder of how far she had fallen.
The second part of the exhibition explores the lasting effects of Antoinette’s style and influence: the corsetry, the cornflower prints, Baroque-inspired shoes.
In the final room, John Galliano’s Marquise Masquée gown for Dior’s Spring 1998 Couture collection takes centre stage in all its pastel-green, shot-silk, taffeta glory. Surrounding it are works by other designers inspired by Antoinette: Moschino’s autumn/winter 2020 “Let Them Eat Cake” collection, Vivienne Westwood Bridal for 2025, and Manolo Blahnik shoes and designs drawn from the 2005 archive.
The Rococo and Baroque periods had a fashion revival in the late 20th century and a taste for them doesn’t seem to be going away. But while these designs are beautiful and a testament to fashion artistry, they lack originality – following instead a framework laid out almost three centuries ago by a woman whose style symbolised unattainable and unimaginable luxury. Napoleon’s wife, Empress Eugenie, had a dress commissioned out of the same fabric featured in Antoinette’s wardrobe. The Victorian period sparked a rise for fancy dress costumes of the late queen of France. Now clothing inspired by her daring and divisive fashion choices is always a click away. Imitation has taken luxury out of the style.
Fashion is cyclical. That is evident through the comeback of Sixties culottes, Seventies flares, Noughties low-rise trousers. Perhaps it is time to acknowledge that we have come to the end of original fashion. The brands that try to reinvent the wheel and strive for uniqueness will create only small fads. It’s hard to imagine an exhibition dedicated to Balenciaga and Crocs 200 years from now.
Antoinette has left behind a legacy of beauty and craftsmanship. But it is a shame that the modern fashion world – the epitome of self-expression and creativity – has lost its originality. Everything is inspired; nothing is new.
[Further reading: Annie Ernaux’s clinical self-examination]
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