Nelson's Coat
Undress Coat worn by Admiral Horatio Nelson, 1798
UK
Wool, linen, brass, gold alloy
Admiral Nelson wore this coat at the Battle of the Nile in 1798. Buttons with anchors show it is a naval garment. Nelson lost his arm in 1797, and the unlined right sleeve is secured to one of the buttons with a silk loop. The back of the collar and shoulders are stained with pomatum (a scented hair ointment) from his pigtail. Fashionable, non-regulation accessories, like striped silk stockings, were often worn with uniform. Nelson possessed a similar pair.
[V&A]
Taken in the Exhibition
Fashioning Masculinities: The Art of Menswear
(March 2022 to November 2022)
At a moment of unprecedented creativity in men's fashion and reflection on gender, this exhibition explored how designers, tailors and artists – and their clients and sitters – have constructed and performed masculinity, and unpicked it at the seams.
...The exhibition showcases the variety of possible masculinities across the centuries from the Renaissance to the global contemporary: from looks by Gucci, Harris Reed, Grace Wales Bonner and Raf Simons, to paintings by Sofonisba Anguissola and Joshua Reynolds, contemporary artworks by David Hockney and Omar Victor Diop, to an extract from an all-male dance performance by Matthew Bourne's New Adventures.
The exhibition presents around 100 looks alongside 100 artworks, displayed thematically across three galleries, Undressed, Overdressed, and Redressed.
The third gallery, Redressed, opens with a reflection on English country tailoring and the origins of the suit – with historic garments from the V&A collection shown alongside contemporary reimaginings, including a kilt by Nicholas Daley – before exploring how military attire influenced civilian dress.
Redressed will also include paintings as well as extensive photography showing changing styles and attitudes, from Oscar Wilde, Claude Cahun and Cecil Beaton to The Beatles and Sam Smith. Robert Longo's 1981 drawing from the series Men in the Cities will introduce the final part of the section about the dissolving of the suit, and how a new wave of fashion designers from Rick Owens to JW Anderson to Comme des Garçons to Lesiba Mabitsela are slashing away at conventions, both for menswear, and masculinity.
[V&A]
Nelson's Coat
Undress Coat worn by Admiral Horatio Nelson, 1798
UK
Wool, linen, brass, gold alloy
Admiral Nelson wore this coat at the Battle of the Nile in 1798. Buttons with anchors show it is a naval garment. Nelson lost his arm in 1797, and the unlined right sleeve is secured to one of the buttons with a silk loop. The back of the collar and shoulders are stained with pomatum (a scented hair ointment) from his pigtail. Fashionable, non-regulation accessories, like striped silk stockings, were often worn with uniform. Nelson possessed a similar pair.
[V&A]
Taken in the Exhibition
Fashioning Masculinities: The Art of Menswear
(March 2022 to November 2022)
At a moment of unprecedented creativity in men's fashion and reflection on gender, this exhibition explored how designers, tailors and artists – and their clients and sitters – have constructed and performed masculinity, and unpicked it at the seams.
...The exhibition showcases the variety of possible masculinities across the centuries from the Renaissance to the global contemporary: from looks by Gucci, Harris Reed, Grace Wales Bonner and Raf Simons, to paintings by Sofonisba Anguissola and Joshua Reynolds, contemporary artworks by David Hockney and Omar Victor Diop, to an extract from an all-male dance performance by Matthew Bourne's New Adventures.
The exhibition presents around 100 looks alongside 100 artworks, displayed thematically across three galleries, Undressed, Overdressed, and Redressed.
The third gallery, Redressed, opens with a reflection on English country tailoring and the origins of the suit – with historic garments from the V&A collection shown alongside contemporary reimaginings, including a kilt by Nicholas Daley – before exploring how military attire influenced civilian dress.
Redressed will also include paintings as well as extensive photography showing changing styles and attitudes, from Oscar Wilde, Claude Cahun and Cecil Beaton to The Beatles and Sam Smith. Robert Longo's 1981 drawing from the series Men in the Cities will introduce the final part of the section about the dissolving of the suit, and how a new wave of fashion designers from Rick Owens to JW Anderson to Comme des Garçons to Lesiba Mabitsela are slashing away at conventions, both for menswear, and masculinity.
[V&A]