Imperfect Beauty

V&A Museum, London

The brief was to design an identity and marketing campaign for a unique and significant fashion photography exhibition at the V&A Museum in London. The visual language had to reflect the contemporary fashion aesthetics of the exhibition's content and academic aims, provide a distinctive fashion-led visual language, and appeal to a broad range of potential visitors.

The exhibition boasted the works of renowned photographers and image-makers such as Elaine Constantine, Nick Knight, David Sims, and Melanie Ward.

I developed a design concept deeply rooted in the experimentation and iteration process of the contemporary fashion photographic image, mirroring the evolution of images showcased in the exhibition. It features early versions and works in progress of the final pieces exhibited, overlaying with the creator's handwritten markups to show the development of images and capture the energy and creativity in making fashion photographs.

Some poster versions include white selection stickers evoking both the idea of image selecting and markers of sales; these elements addressed the commodity aspects of the contemporary photographic image and changing notions of beauty.

The typography picked up on current fashion magazine editorial design and the spirit of Britpop and French pop bands such as Air and Phoenix, creating a visual hybrid of glamour and grit.
Overall, the design concept created a dynamic visual language that captivated public attention, resulting in considerable exhibition attendance numbers.