Knitted underwear
Knitted underwear
From socks to vests, knitting has played a crucial part in underwear's evolution
Underwear
Often a hidden, secret layer, underwear can be completely functional or luxuriously sensual. Playful and provocative, washable and wearable, undergarments reflect changing attitudes to gender, sex and morality. Together, our collection reveals how underwear design has been a focus for commercial innovation in Europe and North America for the last 300 years.
The collection includes garments designed to protect, insulate, shape, exaggerate and reveal the human body. Sculpted corsets and wired supports feature alongside comfortable jersey vests and pants. Highlights include Christian Dior's curvaceous New Look girdle, contemporary silk lingerie by Agent Provocateur and Calvin Klein Y-fronts.
Collection highlights
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Panty thong by Rudi Gernreich for Lily of France, 1978, USA -
Underpants, made for Mühlenkamp Brothers, 1890s, Great Britain -
Petticoat, by Booth & Fox, about 1860, England -
Mud bra, designed by Malcolm McLaren and Vivienne Westwood, 1982, UK -
Bra, designed by John J. Roussel, 1930s, France -
Corset, about 1890, England -
Girdle, 1960s, Great Britain -
A Favorite Of The Empress, cage crinoline, 1860 – 1865, Great Britain -
Mens Zoned Performance V Neck "Manx" Shapewear, designed by Sara Blakely for Spanx, 2010, USA
Features
The 'Babydoll' slip by Carine Gilson
The 'Babydoll' slip by Carine Gilson
Lingerie designer, Carine Gilson discusses the design process behind the 'Babydoll' slip featured in the exhibition
Shaping the body: from corsets to bullet-bras
Shaping the body: from corsets to bullet-bras
Discover the story of shape-wear: from Victorian corsetry, to bandeaus, bullet-bras and Lycra
A brief history of men's underwear
A brief history of men's underwear
From ruffle-fronted shirts, to Y-fronts, jock-straps and Calvin Kleins, explore the hidden history of men's underwear
Corsets, crinolines and bustles: fashionable Victorian underwear
Corsets, crinolines and bustles: fashionable Victorian underwear
Do you know your corset from your crinolette? Your puff from your petticoat? Discover the extraordinary structures that gave Victorian fashion its form
The design process: interviews with Agent Provocateur, FiFi Chachnil and La Perla
The design process: interviews with Agent Provocateur, FiFi Chachnil and La Perla
From creation to catwalk - discover the design process of three leading fashion brands
The bottom line: underwear revealed
The bottom line: underwear revealed
Take a peek at our underwear collection
Real Beauty: photography by Jodi Bieber
Real Beauty: photography by Jodi Bieber
Photographer Jodi Bieber invited women to pose in their own homes, dressed in their underwear, for her series Real Beauty
