Catwalk

Dundee 2026 #4

I'm not, and have never been, a particularly fashion-conscious person, apart from a brief and glorious exploration of midi-dresses and thigh-high white PVC boots in a heady period for fashion in my early 20s. Nevertheless, I thought it silly not to enjoy the current major exhibition in Dundee's V&A: 'Catwalk: The Art of the Fashion Show'. It 'charts the dramatic evolution of the catwalk, from the private salons of the late 19th century to today’s immersive, live-streamed runway experiences'.

Actually I found the early history to be the most interesting part. Originally, clothing was made bespoke for individuals by dressmakers. In the late 1860s, it was an Englishman in Paris, Charles Frederick Worth, who first introduced the concept of pre-designed collections and employed house models to show his designs to clients. 

The idea of the mannequin was born and shows started to be choreographed to present each new season's collections. 

High-end clothing was 'couture' and bespoke right up to the 1950s/60s, when many young fashion designers started to offer luxury 'ready-to-wear' for a progressive clientele, using modern synthetic materials and unconventional presentations - in cafés, on the streets, in boutiques and on TV. 

Designs like Paco Rabanne's 'Mirror Dress' (above), Mary Quant's use of PVC and Vivienne Westwood's avant-garde cuts and styling (below) were accompanied by high-energy shows, with models dancing, running and jumping - all projecting the youthful vibe of the 'swinging' London scene.  

The 1980s and 90s saw the rise of the 'supermodel' - stars with presence and glamour like Naomi Campbell, Cindy Crawford and others. But high fashion, the 'looks' and beauty ideals associated with it started to become almost unachievable for the average woman. 

Catwalk shows became full productions, with hair stylists like Sam McKnight using their skills to create image-defining art forms, part of the aesthetic identity of the major fashion houses. Fashion shows had evolved into elaborately staged, provocative, theatrical spectacles with outfits far removed from the normal clothing we wear every day. 

The Covid pandemic in the early 2020s disrupted fashion as well as everything else. The Dior Collection for Autumn/Winter 2020/21 was presented as a film, with a suitcase filled with miniature clothes embarking on a fantasy adventure. 

Those designs do, at least, look wearable, unlike the dramatic blue dress below, whose voluminous skirt certainly wouldn't fit through your average doorway! 

In addition to this major exhibition, the V&A Dundee also had an exploration of design and disability, and holds a rather wonderful permanent collection celebrating Scottish design, with the fully restored 'Oak Room', designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh for a Glasgow tearoom, that has been stored in pieces after being salvaged in 1971.