Visitors check out new Tartan exhibition at V&A Dundee

1 April 2023

News image — Supermodel Eunice Olumide wears a tartan by Scottish designer Charles Jeffrey, whose work features in the new exhibition

Jane Barlow / PA Eunice Olumide — Supermodel Eunice Olumide wears a tartan by Scottish designer Charles Jeffrey, whose work features in the new exhibition

Tartan, the first major exhibition in Scotland for 30 years to focus solely on the iconic textile and pattern, has opened at Dundee's V&A Museum.

The show, which runs until January, features more than 300 objects including items from the worlds of fashion, architecture, graphic design, film, performance and art.

The exhibition also includes a scrap of fabric found in a Highland peat bog which is likely to be the oldest tartan ever discovered in Scotland.

National Galleries of Scotland Doddie Weir — Gerard M. Burns' portrait of the late Doddie Weir, which was loaned to National Galleries of Scotland by the Weir family in 2019, is on display at the show

Michael McGurk Vivienne Westwood Anglomania — Vivienne Westwood Anglomania suit with jacket, waistcoat, kilt and trews. The kilt ensemble in Westwood's own modified Red Anderson fashion tartan encapsulates the designer's punk edginess coupled with attention to fine tailoring

Microsoft XBox — XBox UK partnered with Gordon Nicolson Kiltmakers and Lochcarron of Scotland in 2022 to create an official Xbox tartan, marking the 20th anniversary of the console's launch in Scotland

Christian Hook Alan Cumming — Christian Hook's portrait of actor Alan Cumming was the winning commission for the Sky Arts Portrait Artist of The Year 2014 competition

Jane Barlow / PA Graham McTavish — Actor and tartan ambassador Graham McTavish sits inside a limited edition 1976 Caledonia Hillman Imp car

V&A Dundee Leather boots — A pair of woman's wool, leather boots from the 1850s has been loaned by the Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, Canada

Jane Barlow / PA Nicholas Daley — Fashion designer Nicholas Daley shows off his own tartan at the launch of the exhibition

Science Museum Group Queen of Scots — The show includes this poster of The Queen of Scots by Reginald Mayes

Jane Barlow / PA Finlay Wilson — Yoga teacher Finlay Wilson wears the Kilted Yoga tartan at the exhibition

BBC Maria Grazia Chiuri — Maria Grazia Chiuri, the first female head of fashion house Dior, designed this T-shirt and skirt ensemble

Bonhams Ancient Caledonian Society coat. — Detail of 18th Century tartan for an Ancient Caledonian Society coat

National Museums Scotland Singh Twins — British artists The Singh Twins' work draws on traditional Indian and contemporary Western culture

Michael McGurk Tailor's Touch Table — The exhibition runs at V&A Dundee until January

All photos are subject to copyright.

V&A Dundee

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