London

<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1024" height="683" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2024/11/LIGHTROOM_VOGUE-DIGITAL-AW-1920x1080-blank-1-1024x683.jpg" alt="Vogue: Inventing the Runway" class="wp-image-6637" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2024/11/LIGHTROOM_VOGUE-DIGITAL-AW-1920x1080-blank-1-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2024/11/LIGHTROOM_VOGUE-DIGITAL-AW-1920x1080-blank-1-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2024/11/LIGHTROOM_VOGUE-DIGITAL-AW-1920x1080-blank-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2024/11/LIGHTROOM_VOGUE-DIGITAL-AW-1920x1080-blank-1.jpg 1500w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure>



Immersive new catwalk exhibition <a href="https://lightroom.uk/whats-on/vogue-inventing-the-runway/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">VOGUE: Inventing the Runway</a> opens its doors at Lightroom in King&#8217;s Cross this week (13 Nov), and Muddy was invited along for the glam press preview, dahling. 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-sounds-intriguing-tell-me-more">Sounds intriguing, tell me more&#8230;</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1024" height="683" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2024/11/vogueexhibition-1024x683.jpg" alt="Vogue: Inventing the Runway" class="wp-image-6624" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2024/11/vogueexhibition-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2024/11/vogueexhibition-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2024/11/vogueexhibition-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2024/11/vogueexhibition.jpg 1500w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure>



It&#8217;s a spectacle, and beautiful from start to finish. Projections on all four four-storey walls will keep you gaping with wide-eyed wonder throughout the whole 50-minute show, but it&#8217;s the projections on the floor that take it to the next level.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1024" height="683" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2024/11/Louis-Vuitton-Menswear-Fall-2020-Justin-Sutcliffe-for-Lightroom-1024x683.jpg" alt="Vogue: Inventing the Runway" class="wp-image-6628" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2024/11/Louis-Vuitton-Menswear-Fall-2020-Justin-Sutcliffe-for-Lightroom-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2024/11/Louis-Vuitton-Menswear-Fall-2020-Justin-Sutcliffe-for-Lightroom-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2024/11/Louis-Vuitton-Menswear-Fall-2020-Justin-Sutcliffe-for-Lightroom-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2024/11/Louis-Vuitton-Menswear-Fall-2020-Justin-Sutcliffe-for-Lightroom.jpg 1500w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure>



I was taken aback by the sensation of a beautiful wave of colour sweep beneath my feet. The whole room, even the air inside it, seems to change, and it&#8217;s a bodily sensation very much worth experiencing.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1024" height="683" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2024/11/Jacquemus-Spring-2020-Justin-Sutcliffe-for-Lightroom-1024x683.jpg" alt="Vogue: Inventing the Runway" class="wp-image-6622" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2024/11/Jacquemus-Spring-2020-Justin-Sutcliffe-for-Lightroom-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2024/11/Jacquemus-Spring-2020-Justin-Sutcliffe-for-Lightroom-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2024/11/Jacquemus-Spring-2020-Justin-Sutcliffe-for-Lightroom-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2024/11/Jacquemus-Spring-2020-Justin-Sutcliffe-for-Lightroom.jpg 1500w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure>



Narrated by A-lister Cate Blanchett, whose voice somehow oozes elegance, it&#8217;s interspersed with clips from interviews with designers and journalists from Vogue&#8217;s mighty archives.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1024" height="683" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2024/11/DSC_9585-1024x683.jpg" alt="Vogue: Inventing the Runway - Louis Vuitton Cruise 2017 Rio de Janeiro" class="wp-image-6625" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2024/11/DSC_9585-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2024/11/DSC_9585-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2024/11/DSC_9585-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2024/11/DSC_9585.jpg 1500w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure>



Stretching back to the turn of the 20th century, the archives include catwalk videos, audio tapes, photos and artwork. A particular highlight was a section on Vogue covers through the ages (see below) which are displayed on a screen while the colours and motifs explode around you on the walls and the floor. Chills, literal chills.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1024" height="683" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2024/11/voguecovers-1024x683.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-6620" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2024/11/voguecovers-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2024/11/voguecovers-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2024/11/voguecovers-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2024/11/voguecovers.jpg 1500w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure>



It also uses the magazine&#8217;s &#8216;contributor network&#8217;, which means the many houses of high fashion, think Chanel, Dior, Versace, Prada and more, all get a mention. 



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1024" height="683" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2024/11/Vogue-courtesy-of-Conde-Nast-Justin-Sutcliffe-for-Lightroom-1024x683.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-6621" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2024/11/Vogue-courtesy-of-Conde-Nast-Justin-Sutcliffe-for-Lightroom-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2024/11/Vogue-courtesy-of-Conde-Nast-Justin-Sutcliffe-for-Lightroom-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2024/11/Vogue-courtesy-of-Conde-Nast-Justin-Sutcliffe-for-Lightroom-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2024/11/Vogue-courtesy-of-Conde-Nast-Justin-Sutcliffe-for-Lightroom.jpg 1500w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure>



It is divided up into sections called things like &#8216;On Location&#8217;, &#8216;The Audience&#8217;, &#8216;Behind Closed Doors&#8217;. Each section comprises short spotlights on designers, illuminating the wonderfully weird world of the runway and the characters that live in it.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-are-the-highlights">What are the highlights? </h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1024" height="683" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2024/11/Alexander-McQueen-Spring-1999-Justin-Sutcliffe-for-Lightroom-1024x683.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-6632" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2024/11/Alexander-McQueen-Spring-1999-Justin-Sutcliffe-for-Lightroom-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2024/11/Alexander-McQueen-Spring-1999-Justin-Sutcliffe-for-Lightroom-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2024/11/Alexander-McQueen-Spring-1999-Justin-Sutcliffe-for-Lightroom-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2024/11/Alexander-McQueen-Spring-1999-Justin-Sutcliffe-for-Lightroom.jpg 1500w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure>



The &#8216;Story and Spectacle&#8217; section is astonishing, particularly the bit on Chanel&#8217;s Karl Lagerfeld whose runways, including supermarkets, airports and casinos, were made into hyperreal displays of elegance and extravagance. And did you know he once turned the Great Wall of China into a runway? 



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1024" height="683" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2024/11/DSC_9560-1024x683.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-6626" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2024/11/DSC_9560-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2024/11/DSC_9560-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2024/11/DSC_9560-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2024/11/DSC_9560.jpg 1500w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">The Chanel rocket</figcaption></figure>



&#8216;Disruptors&#8217; is also a standout section, delving deep into the characters that changed the face of fashion. Vivienne Westwood was one of fashion&#8217;s &#8216;ultimate rule-breakers&#8217; (and generally a queen), (Lee) Alexander McQueen literally and figuratively turned the mirror on audiences at his shows, and Patrick Kelly was the smiliest man in fashion who exposed racist stereotypes through his designs.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1024" height="683" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2024/11/DSC_9566-1024x683.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-6627" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2024/11/DSC_9566-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2024/11/DSC_9566-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2024/11/DSC_9566-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2024/11/DSC_9566.jpg 1500w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Patrick Kelly</figcaption></figure>



It really does a great job with the characters and vignettes, considering how many it fits in. Azzadine Alaïa&#8217;s shows might have started two hours late, but no one complained because they knew it&#8217;d be worth the wait. Martine Rose turned a Camden cul-de-sac into a runway, and residents watched out of their bedroom windows.



The music is great too, ranging from Bach to Sylvester without a lurch and always bolstering the spectacle. 



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1024" height="683" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2024/11/Coperni-Spring-2023-Justin-Sutcliffe-for-Lightroom-1024x683.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-6631" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2024/11/Coperni-Spring-2023-Justin-Sutcliffe-for-Lightroom-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2024/11/Coperni-Spring-2023-Justin-Sutcliffe-for-Lightroom-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2024/11/Coperni-Spring-2023-Justin-Sutcliffe-for-Lightroom-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2024/11/Coperni-Spring-2023-Justin-Sutcliffe-for-Lightroom.jpg 1500w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-and-the-lowlights">And the lowlights? </h2>



It&#8217;s a touch light on hard info. A bit more help for the uninitiated on the hierarchy of the fashion world would be good, plus a bit more backstage gossip. 



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1024" height="683" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2024/11/DSC_9588-1024x683.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-6633" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2024/11/DSC_9588-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2024/11/DSC_9588-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2024/11/DSC_9588-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2024/11/DSC_9588.jpg 1500w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure>



It might have also been interesting to look a bit deeper at fashion as an artform &#8211; how impressions of superficiality, beauty standards, the huge price tags and the stiflingly star-studded shows have impacted its perception as art.



Ultimately, however, it&#8217;s all rather ravishing and fashionistas, and pretty much everyone else, are going to love it. 



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1024" height="683" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2024/11/DSC_9557-1024x683.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-6634" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2024/11/DSC_9557-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2024/11/DSC_9557-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2024/11/DSC_9557-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2024/11/DSC_9557.jpg 1500w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-anything-else">Anything else? </h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1024" height="683" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2024/11/DSC_9615-1024x683.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-6635" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2024/11/DSC_9615-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2024/11/DSC_9615-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2024/11/DSC_9615-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/london/wp-content/uploads/sites/24/2024/11/DSC_9615.jpg 1500w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Make-up stations on the way in!</figcaption></figure>



Lightroom sits at the entrance to Coal Drops Yard, right next to King&#8217;s Cross station and home to high street heavyweights like COS, &amp; Other Stories, Paul Smith, Søstrene Grene and a giant UNIQLO, so there are plenty of shopping opps post-exhibition. And if you&#8217;re feeling peckish after all that fashion, Lina Stores is a fabulous Italian deli, Barrafina does gorgeous tapas and Dishoom &#8211; well, Dishoom requires no introduction.



Good for: Fashion buffs keen to relive landmark runway moments, those keen to understand the appeal of fashion shows, or just about anyone after a spectacle.



Not for: Exhibition purists who want a deep dive into the nuts and bolts of the fashion world. Breadth and viewing experience are definitely the priorities here.



Vogue: Inventing the Runway runs 13 Nov &#8211; 26 April 2025 at Lightroom, Coal Drops Yard. Book tickets <a href="https://lightroom.uk/whats-on/vogue-inventing-the-runway/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">here</a>.

Couture culture! VOGUE: Inventing the Runway exhibition now open

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