Looking for fashion inspiration? Keeping up with the latest trends? Or are you simply interested in the fascinating history of fashion and design?
Using Street View to click and drag and point your way, you can virtually strut your stuff. Scroll on to stroll around 5 leading fashion museums and sort your Cristóbal Balenciaga from your Christian Dior.
In 2019, the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute saw more than 1.65 million visitors to their Heavenly Bodies exhibition of Catholic vestments and fashion - the most popular exhibition ever held there.
Canada's Bata Shoe Museum developed from the personal collections of Sonja Bata.
The collection, started in the 1940s, now contains over 13000 shoes and other items of footwear, the oldest dating back 4500 years.
Florence, Italy, was the centre of the Renaissance and remains a centre of fashion. Salvatore Ferragamo may not be a household name, but this shoe designer was the inventor of the wedge and the cage heel.
The museum boasts a range of garments inspired by art history, such as these pieces featuring designs based on the paintings of Joan Miro and Piet Mondrian.
Kobe Fashion Museum is the first museum in Japan to specialise in fashion. The collection consists of more than 9,000 Western costumes from the 18th-20th century, and folk costumes from over 70 countries. Additionally, the museum holds 2000 accessories, 1500 fashion plates, 2000 fashion photos, and over 4000 movie posters.
Click, drag, and use the arrows to explore the array of photos and fashions on show.
There's a stunning range of clothing and costumes to discover.
The V&A is a world leading museum of art and design, hosting exhibitions of iconic designers including Mary Quant, Christian Dior, and Alexander McQueen.
Looking for more style inspiration? Find out how to use the Color Palette tool to source out fashion tips from art history.
Online Exhibit
Out of Sight, Out of Mind
This interactive gallery reveals how curious and diverse life under the waves is - to remind us of the importance of the ocean, the issues it faces and the critical work being done to protect it.
ReadWidely regarded as one of the greatest paintings of the Dutch Baroque era, also known as the Golden Age of Dutch art, The Night Watch is perhaps the best known work by Rembrandt.
Originally known as The Company of Frans Banning Cocq and Willem van Ruytenburgh, the painting features a group of military men and was completed in 1642 in Amsterdam. The work was likely commissioned by the men who feature in it, and was intended to hang in the Great Room of the Kloveniersdoelen, or the Musketeers Assembly Hall.
But how much do you really know about this Dutch masterpiece? Is there more to discover than just a superb example of technical painting? Let’s take a closer look and see what we can find.
Despite the updated name of the painting, the picture almost certainly does not portray a night time scene. The well known title was not actually given by the artist but probably applied some time later at the start of the 18th century.
By this time the tones of the painting had almost certainly darkened considerably thanks to layers of dirt accumulating in the varnish, giving it the appearance of being night.
Around this time, companies of civil militiamen had formed in the northern Netherlands with the aim of defending their cities. They would be tasked with guarding the streets, tackling fires, and generally maintaining order. Each company would have its own guild hall, which were often decorated with portraits of serving members, usually armed and dressed in their finery. As such, these kinds of pictures aimed to promote a sense of pride in their civic duty.
In The Night Watch, the company is under the command of Captain Frans Banning Cocq, who you can see in the center foreground, dressed in black and with the white lace collar commonly worn by the upper classes at the time.
Striding forward to meet him is Willem van Ruytenburgh, dressed in bright yellow.
One of the most unusual features of the painting is the mysterious girl who emerges from the center of the painting.
Dressed in gold and with flowing blond hair, she carries a chicken tied to her waistband.
The bird is the clue to the puzzle, as a golden claw was used as an emblem for the musketeers at this time. So, the girl probably personifies the whole company in the painting.
The musket is the most prominent weapon in the painting and the official weapon of the Kloveniers. They are given significance just behind the head of the captain and are painted to display the basic way to properly handle the weapon.
On the left, the musketeer is pouring powder into his muzzle.
Next, a helmeted figure fires off his weapon.
Lastly, another figure cleans the powder from his musket.
If you would like to know more about Rembrandt's work or want to discover hidden meanings in his other paintings, you can find it all here.