KATE MIDDLETON OPENS NEW WING AT THE V

KATE MIDDLETON OPENS NEW WING AT THE V&A IN A GUCCI DRESS



Floaty floral dresses or crisp lacy numbers are her go-to for summer, but today the Duchess of Cambridge opted for something a little more ladylike.

Kate was channeling Jackie O chic as she arrived at London's V&A to open the new exhibition spaces in a £1,790 tweed dress by Gucci.

The tailored black and white piece with red trim and gold buttons hugged the royal's famously svelte figure perfectly, while she wore her brunette locks swept back in a half up do.

Kate strode through the new courtyard, with its brilliant white tile flooring, to meet its designer and museum staff, before enjoying a tour of the new area.

Just a stone’s throw from her official residence, Kensington palace, the V&A Exhibition Road Quarter is the museum’s largest architectural project in the last 100 years.



The Duchess will tour the V&A Exhibition Road Quarter's new spaces, designed by British architect Amanda Levete and her practice AL-A, who have created new public areas and gallery space, transforming the experience of the V&A for visitors, and revealing the historic facades of the Museum's existing Grade I buildings for the first time.

She will also visit The Sackler Courtyard where she will unveil a commemorative plaque to officially mark the opening of the V&A Exhibition Road Quarter.



A new public entrance to the V&A has also been created on Exhibition Road, reconnecting the V&A with its neighbouring museums and institutions founded on the vision of ‘Albertopolis’, following the Great Exhibition of 1851.

The new entrance leads visitors through the historic Aston Webb Screen into the world’s first porcelain tiled courtyard, which floats above a new column-free gallery that will host the V&A’s world-class exhibition programme.



The new entrance will reconnect the V&A with its neighbouring museums and institutions founded on the vision of Albertopolis, following the Great Exhibition of 1851.

During the tour Her Royal Highness will also visit The Sackler Courtyard – the world’s first porcelain tiled public courtyard – The Blavatnik Hall, the V&A's new entrance and The Sainsbury Gallery.

The Sainsbury Gallery will host temporary site-specific installations for the opening, including immersive sound and light works by artist Simon Heijdens and viol player Liam Byrne, as well as industrial designer Jonathan Olivares’ Aluminium Bench, a twelve-metre long bench which curves throughout the space.

The Duchess, who is a patron of the National Portrait Gallery, will attend a short reception in the Blavatnik Hall to meet guests involved in the project.



She will be shown around the Sainsbury Gallery, which is hosting a selection of temporary light and sound installations.

Kate will also hear about the design and unique features of the V&A's largest architectural project in the last 100 years.

Her interest in art has led to patronages of London's National Portrait Gallery and the charity The Art Room, which uses art in a therapeutic way to help disadvantaged children.



When she became patron of the latter in 2012, Kensington Palace said she'd chosen the organisation as it reflected her 'interest in the arts and her particular interest in using the creativity of art to enrich the lives of young people.'

During an event to celebrate the work of The Art Room, she told the audience: 'I am a firm believer in the power of art to make a difference.'

When her first official portrait was commissioned, she insisted on taking on the task of picking a shortlist of artists herself before settling on Paul Emsley.

And she showed off her own impressive skills as an artists, sketching a picture of St Mark's Church in Englefield which appeared on the order of service for her sister Pippa's wedding in May.