Say it with sparkle

A V&A collection of 280 luxury outfits, jewellery and mementos of showbiz stars is proving an eye-catching drawcard in Auckland.

- BY LOUISE BARNES

Status, power and freedom are three words encapsulating an entire attitude of women who scaled the heights of celebrity – the diva.

Showing beyond Europe for the first time, Diva has begun its international tour at the Auckland War Memorial Museum. The collection represents the metamorphosis of the “diva” from her birth in 19th-century opera circles to 21st-century celebrities, with superstardom ever present in the 280 costumes, garments, photos and personal items of women in show business.

“All the icons represented here are moments in history,” says Kate Bailey, curator of Diva at London’s Victoria and Albert Museum, who has travelled to Auckland for its installation.

So far, the exhibition has been as popular as the divas themselves would expect. In its first three weeks, the museum had sold 12,600 tickets.