The fashions of some of rock and pop’s biggest divas — including Elton John, Cher and Tina Turner — will be celebrated in a new exhibit at London’s Victoria & Albert Museum starting in June.
The exhibit, DIVA, will “celebrate the powerful and personal stories of creativity, ambition, and resilience of some [of] the best known divas, from opera goddesses and silent movie stars to sirens of the big screen and today’s global megastars.”
The exhibit is divided into two acts. Act One focuses on the rise of the term “diva” to describe female stars and will include costumes, photos and memorabilia from O.G. divas like Maria Callas, Josephine Baker, Marilyn Monroe, Vivien Leigh, Bette Davis and Mae West.
Act Two will focus on “the diva today,” and among the items on display will be a number of Cher’s iconic Bob Mackie ensembles; a 1977 “Flame Dress,” also designed by Bob Mackie, worn by Tina Turner; a yellow and pink minidress worn by Blondie‘s Debbie Harry in 1979; one of Pink‘s outfits; and the over-the-top Louis XIV costume, complete with a massive powdered wig, that Elton John wore to his 50th birthday party in 1997.
Rihanna, Whitney Houston, Dolly Parton, Diana Ross and Barbra Streisand, as well as Lizzo, Annie Lennox, Prince, Grace Jones, Aretha Franklin, rapper Missy Elliott, RuPaul and Bjork will also be part of the exhibit via photos and archival material.
The exhibit opens June 24. Tickets are on sale now.
Copyright © 2023, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.
