V&A Dundee reveals new exhibitions celebrating Mary Quant and global club culture

They'll both arrive at the museum in 2020.

Published 10th Jul 2019

V&A Dundee has revealed two new exhibitions which will be arriving at the museum in 2020.

The first will explore the world of fashion, celebrating the work of Dame Mary Quant.

It’s currently on display at V&A in South Kensington and look at the years between 1955 and 1975 when the designer captured the spirit of the sixties and utilised mass production techniques to create a new look for women.

It’ll run from the 4th of April to the 6th of September and is curated by Jenny Lister and Stephanie Wood.

After that the City of Discovery’s design museum will take a look at the world’s most influential nightclubs.

The Night Fever: Designing Club Culture exhibition which will be on display from 31 October 2020 to February 2021.

From Studio 54 where Andy Warhol was a regular, to the Haçienda in Manchester the exhibition is the first large-scale examination of the relationship between club culture and design.

Haçienda, Manchester

It’s designed by Ben Kelly with graphic design by Peter Saville, and will also display more recent concepts by the OMA architecture studio for the Ministry of Sound in London.

By charting the evolution of nightclubs since the 1960s the show explores how architecture and interior design merge with sound, light, fashion, graphics and visual effects to create hugely influential epicentres of pop culture.

Night Fever - Xenon Dance Floor, 1979

Director of Programme at V&A Dundee, Sophie McKinlay, said: “V&A Dundee celebrates the exciting world of design and our 2020 exhibitions continue to highlight a diverse range of disciplines.

“V&A South Kensington has groundbreaking fashions shows so I’m thrilled that Mary Quant will be the first we bring to Dundee. As well as showcasing influential designs it also explores ideas of brand and identity at a time when people were eager for change.

“We will then shine a spotlight on a design environment with endless possibilities in Night Fever, an exhibition looking at club culture through the lens of design.”

Discotheque Flash Back, Borgo San Dalmazzo

Philip Long, Director of V&A Dundee, said: “V&A Dundee is developing its role as an international centre for design and we are delighted to be working with colleagues from across the V&A and with institutions internationally to bring the most ambitious exhibitions to Dundee and Scotland.”