U-turn if you want to: V&A to display Baroness Thatcher's 'iconic' handbag
Only a few years ago, the V&A “politely declined” the opportunity to acquire the wardrobe of Baroness Thatcher, saying the items did not meet its strict fashion criteria.
But when curators began planning an exhibition of handbags, they quickly realised there was one major gap in its collection.
The V&A is in negotiations to borrow one of Baroness Thatcher’s bags, to put on display in a celebration of “the ultimate accessory”.
Lucia Savi, curator of the Bags! Exhibition, said the former Prime Minister’s handbags were “so iconic”. She explained: “The Margaret Thatcher bag… would really highlight the symbolic meaning of bags.
“They were, for her, functional objects, but the focus becomes symbolic.”
The V&A was criticised in 2015 when it emerged that the museum had turned down the opportunity to take some of her best-known outfits.
At the time, a spokesman said: “The V&A politely declined the offer of Baroness Thatcher’s clothes, feeling that these records of Britain’s political history were best suited to another collection… The museum is responsible for chronicling fashionable dress and its collecting policy tends to focus on acquiring examples of outstanding aesthetic or technical quality.”
Instead, the items from her estate were sold at Christie’s, with the black Raflo handbag that she carried on her last visit to Downing Street fetching £47,500.
The museum later acquired six outfits and a hat, but no handbags.
The Bags! Exhibition opens in April next year and will include more than 300 objects used by both men and women from the 16th century to today, from purses and Birkin bags to despatch boxes and Louis Vuitton luggage.
Other shows planned for next year will be devoted to Alice in Wonderland, Renaissance watercolours, and the art and design of Iran.
Details were unveiled at the publication of the V&A’s annual report, which showed that the museum’s shop set a new sales record of £7.3 million last year as visitors snapped up merchandise from its Frida Kahlo exhibition.
