Such a Diva!?

From June 24, the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) is reclaiming a term that often has a negative connotation: the diva. The diva enjoyed her heyday during the golden age of Hollywood, but in the decades that followed, she also made inroads into the world of opera, stage, popular music and film. In the exhibition Diva, the V&A aims to restore some of the original meaning of the term with costumes and artefacts of real divas. The word derives from the Italian word for goddess, but soon became an image of a self-important person - usually a woman - who was demanding and difficult to please.

Original dresses and stage costumes worn by Marilyn Monroe, Maria Callas or Tina Turner, as well as Elton John's 50th birthday suit, are meant to testify to the power and creativity with which the person in question enriched society. »Today the word diva holds a myriad of meanings,« said exhibition curator Kate Bailey. »At the heart of this exhibition is a story of iconic performers who with creativity, courage and ambition have challenged the status quo and used their voice and their art to redefine and reclaim the diva.« In total, the V&A will display more than 250 objects spanning fashion, photography, design, costume, music and live performance. The exhibition highlights the ways in which divas have inspired social and political change. For example, the museum explores how Aretha Franklin's 1967 song Respect became an anthem of the women's and civil rights movement. Still other stars deliberately appropriated the diva to market themselves in the business world. Androgyny and performance style, on the other hand, have served as a means for many divas to express their relationship to sexuality, gender, and the body. Those interested in seeing the original costumes will have until April 7, 2024 to do so.