Savannah Black / 18 October 2024 / Categories: City, What to see, What to do, Museums

V & A South Kensington

Went for Chanel saw loads more

First of all I have lived in London for 6 years and I cannot believe I have NEVER visited before. Admission is FREE and the museum is open 10am to 5.45pm every day including Sundays.

Victoria & Albert Museum is split into four curatorial sections so depending on what you are interested in it’s pretty easy to navigate. Decorative Art and Sculpture; Performance, Furniture, Textiles and Fashion; Art, Architecture, Photography and Design; and Asia.

I spent ages in the Asia section after the reception. It was a Thursday evening in February, dark and gloomy outside and extremely quiet but I was amazed by how beautifully curated this collection of artifacts is.

It was Alexandra Schulman’s description of the Chanel exhibition, she said it left her with more questions about Gabrielle Chanel than it had answered which made me intrigued and excited to visit. It had loads of press and the tickets were thin on the ground, the moment they went on sale it was sold out again.

I was lucky to be invited but I can promise you even though the exhibition was blooming fabulous, I did find myself drawn away to look at other areas of the museum.

It was extra special in the quiet, I felt like I’d snuck away from a dinner party to look at things I wasn’t supposed to.it felt like “A night at the museum”

I will definitely be planning a return visit during regular opening hours. I actually fancy looking into one of their photography courses too, lots more interactive stuff going on here than I ever remembers trip to the museum being in the past.

Small (when compared to museums like The National Gallery, London , The Getty Museum, Los Angeles or The Uffizzi in Florence but it houses some out of this world pieces you just have to see in person.

I have always been drawn to the impressionists especially Degas, and I absolutely loved seeing The Ballet Scene from Meyerbeer's Opera Robert Le Diable. Don’t ask someonemight be in trouble.

Highlights for me, Renaissance masterpiece portraits by Botticelli and Tintoretto, as beautiful as you might find in Uffizi where you need days not hours.