Editing Victoria and Albert Museum (section)

===Fashion===
The costume collection is the most comprehensive in Britain, containing over 14,000 outfits plus accessories, mainly dating from 1600 to the present. Costume sketches, design notebooks, and other works on paper are typically held by the Word and Image department. Because everyday clothing from previous eras has not generally survived, the collection is dominated by fashionable clothes made for special occasions. One of the first significant gifts of the costume came in 1913 when the V&A received the [[Talbot Hughes]] collection containing 1,442 costumes and items as a gift from [[Harrods]] following its display at the nearby department store.

Some of the oldest works in the collection are medieval [[vestments]], especially [[Opus Anglicanum]]. One of the most important pieces in the collection is the wedding suit of [[James II of England]], which is displayed in the British Galleries.

In 1971, [[Cecil Beaton]] curated an exhibition of 1,200 20th-century high-fashion garments and accessories, including gowns worn by leading socialites such as Patricia Lopez-Willshaw,<ref>[https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O117697/evening-ensemble-dress-perou-peru-la-ligne-h/ Evening dress worn by Mme. Arturo Lopez-Willshaw] in the V&A collection. Accessed 19 January 2011</ref> [[Gloria Guinness]]<ref>[https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O120807/evening-dress/ Evening dress worn by Mrs Loel Guinness] in the V&A collection. Accessed 28 January 2010</ref> and [[Lee Radziwill]],<ref>[https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O72530/evening-dress/ Dress worn by Lee Radziwill] in the V&A collection. Accessed 19 January 2011</ref> and actresses such as [[Audrey Hepburn]]<ref>[https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O138904/evening-dress/ Evening dress worn by Audrey Hepburn] in the collection of the V&A accessed 28 January 2010.</ref> and [[Ruth Ford (actress)|Ruth Ford]].<ref>[https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O65687/evening-dress-the-skeleton-dress-the-circus/ Schiaparelli dress worn by Ruth Ford] in the collection of the V&A accessed 28 January 2010</ref> After the exhibition, Beaton donated most of the exhibits to the museum in the names of their former owners.

In 1999, V&A began a series of live catwalk events at the museum titled ''Fashion in Motion'' featuring pieces from historically significant fashion collections. The first show featured [[Alexander McQueen]] in June 1999. Since then, the museum has hosted recreations of various designer shows every year including [[Anna Sui]], [[Tristan Webber]], [[Elspeth Gibson]], [[Chunghie Lee]], [[Jean Paul Gaultier]], [[Missoni]], [[Gianfranco Ferré]], [[Christian Lacroix]], [[Kenzo]] and [[Kansai Yamamoto]] amongst others.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.vam.ac.uk/page/f/fashion-in-motion/ |title=Fashion in Motion |date=2016 |website=vam.ac.uk |publisher=The Victoria and Albert Museum |access-date=16 February 2017 }}</ref>

In 2002, the museum acquired the Costiff collection of 178 [[Vivienne Westwood]] costumes. Other famous designers with work in the collection include [[Coco Chanel]], [[Hubert de Givenchy]], [[Christian Dior]], [[Cristóbal Balenciaga]], [[Yves Saint Laurent (designer)|Yves Saint Laurent]], [[Guy Laroche]], [[Irene Galitzine]], [[Mila Schön]], [[Valentino Garavani]], [[Norman Norell]], [[Norman Hartnell]], [[Zandra Rhodes]], [[Hardy Amies]], [[Mary Quant]], [[Christian Lacroix]], [[Jean Muir]] and [[Pierre Cardin]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.vam.ac.uk/page/0-9/1960s-fashion/ |title=1960s Fashion Designers&nbsp;– Victoria and Albert Museum |publisher=vam.ac.uk |date=21 October 2010 |access-date=21 August 2011}}</ref> The museum continues to acquire examples of modern fashion to add to the collection.

The V&A runs an ongoing textile and dress conservation programme. For example, in 2008, an important but heavily soiled, distorted and water-damaged 1954 Dior outfit called 'Zemire' was restored to displayable condition for the ''Golden Age of Couture'' exhibition.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/journals/conservation-journal/issue-56/costume-cleaning-conundrums/ |title=Costume cleaning conundrums |first=Frances|last= Hartog |publisher=vam.ac.uk |date=Autumn 2008 |access-date=16 March 2012}}</ref>
<gallery>
File:Sackbackgown.jpg|1770s [[sack-back gown]]
File:WLA vanda Wedding Dress ca 1870.jpg|{{circa|1870}} wedding dress
File:1912 evening dress.jpg|1912 [[Lucy, Lady Duff-Gordon|Lucile]] evening dress
File:Christian Dior evening gown called "Zémire", Fall-Winter 1954 05.jpg|1954 Dior evening gown called 'Zemire'
File:Court mantua dress at Tullie House Museum A (24).JPG|<ref>{{Cite news |last=Museum |first=Victoria and Albert |title=Mantua {{!}} Unknown {{!}} V&A Explore The Collections |url=https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O137678/ |access-date=2022-04-12 |website=Victoria and Albert Museum: Explore the Collections |language=en}}</ref>"Mantua gown made from an ivory silk brocaded in a pattern of stylised flowers and leaves."
</gallery>

The museum has a large collection of shoes; around 2000 pairs from different cultures around the world. The collection shows the chronological progression of shoe height, heel shape and materials, revealing just how many styles we consider to be modern have been in and out of fashion across the centuries.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.vam.ac.uk/collections/shoes |title=V&A · Shoes |website=Victoria and Albert Museum}}</ref>