Christopher Breward gave a talk entitled 'From Doctor to Decadent; Dirk Bogarde's life in clothes'.
Dirk Bogarde's career as a screen actor (c.1950-1991) saw him play a variety of roles whose character both reflected and influenced British attitudes to normative and queer modes of masculinity. Drawing on Bogarde's autobiographical novels, letters and diaries, alongside key cinematic representations, the informal talk seeked to excavate the complex contradictions and elegant solutions to these that marked a career that has been under-appreciated in mainstream histories of film and fashion, but celebrated in certain byways of popular culture.
Christopher Breward is Head of Research at the V&A and a widely published author, broadcaster and curator specialising in fashion and its relationship to London past and present.