Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

First of its kind National Museum exhibition to explore alternative ideals of modern beauty

© JP Yim/Getty Images for ChromatA model walks the runway at the Chromat SS15 Formula 15 fashion show at The Standard Hotel on September 4, 2014 in New York City.
A model walks the runway at the Chromat SS15 Formula 15 fashion show at The Standard Hotel on September 4, 2014 in New York City.

A new exhibition at the National Museum of Scotland will examine and explore alternative ideals of beauty in the modern age.

The first of its kind in the world, the exhibition will look specifically at how today’s fashion industry is challenging perceptions and championing different ways of looking at beauty on the catwalk, in advertising, editorial and behind the camera.

Body Beautiful: Diversity on the Catwalk will explore how fashion creatives are embracing inclusivity and body positivity by looking at five key themes including size, gender, age, race and disability.

Visitors will learn how the industry is calling into question existing practice, and why it must address diversity from the inside out to reappraise contemporary ideals of beauty.

Recent fashion seasons have seen the most racially diverse, size diverse and gender-inclusive fashion shows in history, with brands like New York’s Chromat leading the way.

In London, Teatum Jones chose not to stage a runway show at all for its spring/summer 2019 Round Table not Runway presentation, and instead brought fashion leaders and activists together for a discussion on the industry’s responsibility to better reflect society.

On display will be catwalk ensembles from designers including Ferragamo, Pam Hogg, Ashish and Jean Paul Gaultier, brought to life through film, photography and fashion publications.

Highlights include a camel coat and matching hijab from Max Mara’s AW17 collection which were worn on the catwalk by Somali-American model Halima Aden. She was the first hijab-wearing model to walk the international high-fashion catwalks.

Also on display will be a bustier from Chromat’s SS15 collection. The piece was modelled by Denise Bidot, who made history as the first plus-size model to open a straight-size show at New York Fashion Week.

When Belgian designer Dries Van Noten showcased his 100th collection in March 2017, he staged a reunion of 54 models of all ages who have walked for him from 1993 onwards. A look from this collection will be on show, contextualised by original catwalk imagery, provided by pioneering fashion photographer Chris Moore, who is still working at the age of 85.

Georgina Ripley, Senior Curator of Modern & Contemporary Fashion & Textiles at National Museums Scotland said: “Diversity has become a key talking point in the fashion world in recent years, and Body Beautiful will be the first exhibition to examine the various ways in which the industry is addressing body positivity.

“With more and more designers incorporating ideas around inclusivity into their work, attitudes are shifting, making this a particularly exciting time in fashion.”


Body Beautiful: Diversity on the Catwalk, National Museums of Scotland, 23 May – 20 October 2019

www.nms.ac.uk/