About the Project:
I was commissioned to make a series of wigs for the “Marie Antoinette Style” exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum which opened on 20th September 2025 and runs until 22nd March 2026. The wigs featured on this page were two of twenty-four I made and were coined the “Soft Wigs”.
These two wigs were to be ‘soft’ in style but with a good amount of volume, with curls dropping down around the shoulders. They were both constructed onto frames made of Rigilene boning, with different shaped elements added together to create the style. Out of all the styles of wig I made for this exhibition, this was the hardest one to get how the curators wanted it (as with all of the styles I sent work in progress images along the way of the wigs pinned in position), and they were further edited once they reached the museum.
Please note, I didn’t manage to note down the details of these outfits during the private view, so this page will get updated once I get this information.
The top of the wig was left quite flat, as one of the two wigs had an object hat mounted on top of it by the Textiles Conservators at the museum, which you can see in the below left image.
Portrait of Marie Antoinette 1783 (Marie Antoinette in a Muslin Dress)
by Elisabeth Vigée-Lebrun
One of the reference images for this style of wig was from 1783 portrait of Marie Antoinette, painted by Elisabeth Vigée-Lebrun. The muslin dress popularized by Marie Antoinette is known as the chemise à la reine. Made from fine Indian muslin, the gown was designed as a comfortable, informal option for the queen’s private retreats, representing a departure from the elaborate silks and corsets of official court fashion. When Marie Antoinette was famously painted in the dress it caused a scandal. Critics condemned the outfit as being too informal for a queen, as it resembled a chemise, which was typically an undergarment. The portrait was quickly removed from public exhibition.
About:
- The wigs were made to fit onto both papier-mâché mannequin heads.
- The wigs were constructed onto frames made of Rigilene boning.
- They were made from ivory crinoline, built up in many layers and shaped using stitches to match the hairstyle in reference images I was given of Marie Antoinette.
- One of the wigs had an object hat mounted onto the top of it in the exhibition.
More details about the project as a whole and how I made these wigs can soon be read in a blog post here.
The exhibition is currently touring and will next be on display at The Yokohama Museum of Art in Japan from August 1st – November 23rd 2026.