The Victoria and Albert Museum has announced that a new royal exhibition exploring the life and fashion of history’s most tragic queen will open later this year.

“Marie Antoinette Style” will be opening at the V&A on 20 September. 

A preview on the museum’s website reads: “A complex fashion icon, Marie Antoinette’s timeless appeal is defined by her style, youth and notoriety. Explore the lasting influence of the most fashionable (and ill-fated) queen in history – with over 250 years of design, fashion, film and art.”

Sponsored by footwear firm Manolo Blahnik, the exhibition will explore her life and legacy. 

Curator Sarah Grant told Tatler that the French Queen was often treated with much more sympathy in England than she was in France, making London a strong choice to host the exhibition. 

The daughter of Empress Maria Theresa of Austria, Marie Antoinette married the heir to the French throne at fourteen. The pair became King Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette of France in 1774 following King Louis XV’s death. 

Before the French Revolution ushered in drastic social change, Marie Antoinette dictated fashion trends across France and beyond. She popularised the robe à l’anglaise, a simpler cotton gown, among many other trends. 

The exhibition runs at the V&A in South Kensington from 20 September 2025 through to 22 March 2026.