Nicholas Coleridge gave way to Mark Ronson at the opening of V&A Fashioning Masculinities: The Art of Menswear exhibition yesterday with a cheer. A suitably sartorial crowd had turned out to party: London’s drag superstar Bimini Bon Boulash — aka Bimini Babes, pronounced exclusively with an East End twang — twinkled in Gucci in the museum’s marble atrium, engaging in conversation and a selfie with singer Sam Smith, who stood tall in an elegant wool coat. Trainspotter Francis Bourgeois held court with a glass of Prosecco, not far from Bay Garnett.
No drinks were allowed inside the exhibition proper, so Nathaniel Curtis downed his in a dramatic flourish and strode right inside. His It’s A Sin cast mate Olly Alexander followed, along with The Witcher actress Anna Shaffer in a structured camel jacket.
Suzy Menkes made the gallery first and could be seen in a powder pink coat tapping notes into her phone. Nicholas Pinnock drew audible gasps from admirers as he considered the exhibits, simply because he is Nicholas Pinnock. Designer Harris Reed stood on parade next to their own metallic pink design, telling crowd members, ‘yes, this is mine.’ Not that they could have mistaken his opulent, hyper-regal aesthetic.
The exhibit was far reaching, taking in fashion and the art which inspired it. Guests ogled at models of svelte male torsos and bottoms in Spanx. There was a black puffer coat from Gianni Versace’s famed 1992 collection that made this millennial swoon. Chinoiserie and Thom Browne, tailcoats and top hats all commanded attention. In the final room, Billy Porter’s revolutionary tuxedo gown from the 2019 Oscars was pristine in its elegance — and it stood right next to the Gucci dress worn by Harry Styles on the cover of American Vogue the following year.
But Bimini had the last laugh: their finale look from their winning turn in Ru Paul’s Drag Race — a white, visciously corseted bridal gown with a tumbling ruffle train — was the final exhibit. A total showstopper, as Fashioning Masculinities, too, turned out to be.
