V&A The role of the V&A’s brand licensing programme has been more vital than ever over the last year, and at a time of national lockdown when the doors to museums are shut, bringing art and culture into people’s homes continues to be a key focus. The museum’s award-winning licensing programme offers an almost infinite source of design inspiration. It continues to grow its product offering and global reach with new ranges and activations from licensees and retailers in key territories, enabling existing and new audiences to connect with the V&A collections. In celebration of the new exhibition Bags: Inside Out, the V&A and British luxury lifestyle brand Mulberry have collaborated on a capsule collection of bags, leather goods and scarf, with a signature print inspired by a beautiful 20th century floral furnishing fabric held in the museum’s archive. The opulent chinoiserie-style pattern animates some of Mulberry’s most iconic silhouettes, creating timeless accessories steeped in design history. Fans of the brand’s highly cherished products will be delighted to see styles such as the instantly recognisable Bayswater tote and modern classic small Darley shoulder bag featured among this exclusive and limited edition products. The collection launched at the end of 2020 and was an instant hit, with most items selling out within a month. With people spending an increased amount of times in their homes, wall art is proving to be a popular category. The museum launched a range with FY!, an online marketplace which curates home and living products from a global community of emerging brands, designers and artists. The range of wall art prints is inspired by a sePAGE 8
lection of designs from the V&A archive, including Art Deco fashion, illustrations from Aubrey Beardsley and Eric Ravillious, photography from John French, Japanese woodblock prints and vintage posters. The V&A also launched a new collaboration with Moonpig, offering personalised greetings cards all inspired by the rich archives of the museum. The first range includes cards to celebrate birthdays, anniversaries and other special occasions, with designs inspired from a variety of sources such as Japanese textiles from the V&A’s East Asia collection, a selection of chintz fabrics from the Fashion and Textiles collection, and a design by Nigel Quiney from the 1960s held in the Prints collection. Further designs are set to follow over 2021. Spring sees the launch of
the V&A’s latest range with People Tree, the ethical fashion retailer. The collaboration is now in its fourth successful year and was born out of a mutual appreciation of high-quality materials and a love of print, pattern and colour. The range features 18th and 19th century designs sourced from the museum’s archives. The result is a blend of People Tree’s aesthetic shapes and styles emblazoned with intricate floral and paisley motifs. Despite its challenges 2020 saw some fantastic debut launches for V&A licensing, proving its ongoing appeal across multiple product categories and territories. There is promise of even more to look forward to in 2021. In other V&A news, following the fantastic response to the first series, the V&A is delighted to announce that a second series of the BBC’s Secrets of the Museum will air in the spring. The six part series on BBC Two will reveal more of the museum’s objects and their fascinating stories, as well as some hidden gems not on display. The series will follow the work of the curators, conservators and technicians, whose job is to preserve and care for priceless objects on behalf of us all.
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