Aesthetic Legacy of Marie Antoinette Inspires Exhibition in London

The United Kingdom’s first major exhibition dedicated to the iconic French monarch Marie Antoinette, currently on display at the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A), is reigniting interest in her influence on fashion and her ill-fated life story.

A “complex fashion icon whose timeless appeal is defined by style, youth, and notoriety,” describes the London institution’s website. The exhibition, Marie Antoinette Style, which opened on September 20, brings together more than 250 objects spanning design, cinema, and art.

Running until March 22, 2026, visitors to Galleries 38 and 39 of the V&A will encounter a magnificent collection of wigs, dresses, shoes, paintings, and even the last letter written by the French queen, who was executed by guillotine for treason during the French Revolution in 1793.

The exhibition delves into how her aesthetic has been reinterpreted over the two centuries since her death; many of the pieces have never before been displayed outside the Palace of Versailles or France, according to Secret London.

The grand exhibition is divided into four stages: The Origin of a Style (1770–1793), which explores how she turned fashion into a language of power; Memorialised: The Birth of a Style Cult (19th century), showing how French Empress Eugénie promoted a romantic vision of the late queen, as noted by Harper’s Bazaar.

Completing the showcase are the sections Enchantment and Illusion, examining the appropriation of her image from the late 19th to early 20th century, and Re-Styled, which highlights her enduring impact on pop culture, fashion, and cinema today.

The collection also includes contemporary garments by designers such as Chanel, Dior, Moschino, Vivienne Westwood, Erdem, and Valentino, as well as costumes from Sofia Coppola’s 2006 film Marie Antoinette.