Menswear to be focus of major V&A exhibition – including outfits worn by Harry Styles and David Bowie

Menswear through the ages will be the focus of a major new exhibition at the V&A museum.

Fashioning Masculinities: The Art of Menswear will “celebrate the power, artistry and diversity of masculine attire and appearance”, curators said.

The exhibition, opening in March 2022, will look at how men’s fashion has developed over the centuries and how designers, tailors and artists have influenced its evolution.

Outfits worn by stars including Harry Styles, Billy Porter Sam Smith and David Bowie will feature, according to curators.

And the exhibition will present a diverse look at men’s fashion to “highlight and celebrate the multiplicities of masculine sartorial self-expression, dressing beyond the binary”.

Fashioning Masculinities will present around 100 looks and 100 artworks, displayed “thematically” across three galleries, the V&A said.

They include classical sculptures and Renaissance paintings as well as fashion pieces by the likes of Gucci, Harris Reed Grace Wales Bonner and Raf Simons.

Claire Wilcox and Rosalind McKever, co-curators of Fashioning Masculinities, said: “Masculine fashion is enjoying a period of unprecedented creativity.

“It has long been a powerful mechanism for encouraging conformity or expressing individuality.

“Rather than a linear or definitive history, this is a journey across time and gender. The exhibition will bring together historical and contemporary looks with art that reveals how masculinity has been performed.

“This will be a celebration of the masculine wardrobe and everyone is invited to join in.”

The three main galleries for Fashioning Masculinities are Undressed, Overdressed and Redressed, which will explore different aspects of menswear.

Fashioning Masculinities: The Art of Menswear will run from March 19 – November 6 2022.