British Design 1948-2012: Innovation in the Modern Age

In this Olympic year the Victoria & Albert Museum (V&A) celebrates the best of British art and design since London last held the Olympic Games, in 1948.

British Design at the V&A

Delving into the V&A's unrivalled collections, this exciting new exhibition highlights significant moments in the history of British post-war design.

British Design 1948-2012 brings together over 300 objects from the fields of fashion, ceramics, graphics, photography, sculpture, product design, architecture, furniture and fine art.

The exhibition is split into three sections:

The first explores the tension between modernity and tradition in three aspects of post-war British life: the city, the land and the home.

The display then moves on to examine the explosion of counter-culture from the late 1950s onwards, including pop, 70s punk and the creation of "Cool Britannia" in the 1990s.

The final section demonstrates the innovation of British design, showing some of the iconic objects, technologies and buildings that have been created in Britain over the last 50 years.

Exhibition Highlights

Highlights of this V&A exhibition include:

• Robin Day's Polyprop chair
• A mural by John Piper from the Festival of Britain
• Fine art by David Hockney and Henry Moore
• An Alexander McQueen evening gown
• The first E-type Jaguar car ever to be put on public display
• A model of Zaha Hadid's London Aquatics Centre in the London 2012 Olympic Park