The show officially opens Wednesday and runs through Sept. 4.
British fashion has a consistent habit of juxtaposing tradition and transgression, said Andrew Bolton, the museum's Costume Institute associate curator. And the first piece to greet visitors is the embodiment of John Bull, a fictional character from 1712 who is supposed to be proud of his Anglo-Saxon origins. This John Bull wears a classic English frock coat, but since this particular coat was created for David Bowie by Alexander McQueen, it's made in an unconventional roughed-up, Union Jack-print fabric.
Next comes ''The English Garden,'' a room decorated with the intent of bringing beloved flower gardens indoors. Most of the mannequins are in brocade gowns from the 18th century, but at the center of the room is one in a pink pouf of tulle rosettes _ a Hussein Chalayan dress from 2000. To top off the look: a silk, organza, straw and jersey hat with clipped ostrich plumes by Philip Treacy.
In the ''Upstairs/Downstairs'' scene, one mannequin wears a Charles Frederick Worth gown from 1888 with an 11-foot (3.35-meter) train. She heads up the stairs to meet a man dressed in a classic suit, complete with breeches, waist coat and top coat, that would have been wo to the court of Queen Victoria. At the base of the steps are women in Chalayan's deconstructed ''hand-me-down'' gowns from 2001 that look like they came from Cinderella's closet.
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