The Victoria and Albert Museum — the V&A — holds over 2.27 million objects spanning 5,000 years of human creativity. It is the world’s largest museum of applied art and design, covering fashion, ceramics, glass, textiles, jewellery, metalwork, furniture, sculpture, painting, and digital design.
What Makes the V&A Different
Unlike the British Museum‘s focus on civilisation and history, the V&A’s organising principle is beauty and craft. Every object was made. Every object was designed. That focus gives the museum a warmth and immediacy that is distinctly its own.
The Fashion Collection
The V&A holds the greatest collection of fashion in the world. The Fashion Gallery traces dress from the 18th century to the present. The museum regularly stages blockbuster fashion exhibitions — the Alexander McQueen retrospective, the Dior exhibition, the Chanel show — which consistently sell out months in advance.
Cast Courts and Hidden Gems
The Cast Courts — two vast rooms filled with plaster casts of great sculptures, including a full-size cast of Michelangelo’s David — are among the most remarkable rooms in any museum anywhere. Few visitors find them on a first visit; they are unmissable on a second.
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