Victoria and Albert Museum Theatre and Performance Archives

In partnership with The Victoria and Albert Museum, 880+ images from the Victoria and Albert Museum Theatre and Performance Archives have joined Bloomsbury Dress and Costume Library as part of our Online Museum Collections.

The V&A Theatre and Performance Archives are comprised of over 3,500 stage costumes and accessories dating from the mid-18th century to today. It includes complete outfits, theatrical drawings and photographs of costumes being worn in every kind of performance: drama, opera, dance, musicals, pantomime, rock and pop, music hall, film, cabaret and circus.

For Bloomsbury Dress and Costume Library, we have selected over 850 images from their archives, with the help of staff at the V&A, to showcase a wide range of costume. The selection spans theatrical drawings from the late 19th and early 20th century, including beautiful Ballets Russes and Leon Bakst designs, together with images of the actual costumes; costumes transgressing gender boundaries; South Asian costume design, including some stunning paintings of Kabuki actors in costume and period costumes representative of historical periods, for example Tudor costume in Shakespeare plays.

There’s a wealth of riches in the Archives and we’ve selected images that represent the breadth and diversity of the collection to complement our Dress and Costume Library. Each image is supported by rich descriptive data, and features links to related content from across Bloomsbury Fashion Central to aid the discovery journey.

The collection is available alongside the existing Victoria and Albert Museum collection which is part of Berg Fashion Library. Berg Fashion Library is home to over 17,000 images of fashion objects from museums around the world.

Find out more about Bloomsbury Dress and Costume Library, Berg Fashion Library and other collections on Bloomsbury Fashion Central including trials and purchasing.