“Crown to Couture,” which opens at Kensington Palace next year, examines the lasting influence of 18th-century royal fashion.
Clothes to wear Lizo and Lady Gaga will appear in a special exhibition at Kensington Palace that shows the lasting influence of 18th century royal fashion.
“Crown to Couture” opens on April 5, 2023, and runs through October 29 in the State Apartments of Kensington Palace (that is, the part of the palace open to the public; the main building is the current London home of Prince William and Kate Middleton). “Crown to Couture” features more than 200 hundred items and is billed as one of the largest exhibitions held at Kensington Palace.
Lizzo’s outfit on display will be the Thom Browne dress and gold cape she wore to the 2022 Met Gala (the theme was “Gilded Glamour”). Lady Gaga’s contribution will be her green blooms at the 2020 MTV Video Music Awards, which featured an out-of-place giant dress for one of the many grand events hosted at Kensington Palace in the 18th century.
Complementing these current pop culture fashions will be a collection of historical dresses from the Georgian era. Highlights include the silver tissue gown believed to have been worn by Lady Theophilus Harris at the court of Charles II (which is one of the few full-length gowns still in existence today) and the Rockingham manteau worn by the British Prime Minister’s wife in the 1760s.
The curator of history, Claudia Acott Williams, said in a statement about the exhibition bridging past and present: “We hope to bring these familiar images into the palace and bring them into conversation with the magnificent 18th century court dress. A look at these historic sites and the seemingly distant customs of the Georgian court allows visitors to experience the palace as it was meant to be: filled with the most fashionable and influential names of the day.
