London College of Fashion and V&A East launch MA Fashion Storytelling
- Written byLondon College of Fashion
- Published date 08 June 2026
London College of Fashion, UAL and V&A East are collaborating on a new postgraduate course exploring the relationship between fashion, history and storytelling.
Launching in autumn 2027, MA Fashion Storytelling will bring together academic research, curatorial practice and object-based learning through a unique partnership between London College of Fashion (LCF), UAL’s Cultural and Historical Studies Department and V&A East Storehouse.
Based at East Bank - the UK’s newest cultural quarter at the heart of Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in Stratford, the course will give students access to both LCF’s campus and V&A East Storehouse, creating new opportunities to engage directly with fashion objects, archives and curatorial practice.
Fashion is often understood as a visual language through which people communicate identity, memory and belonging. MA Fashion Storytelling will explore how fashion objects carry meaning across social, cultural and political contexts, and how histories of dress are shaped through research, collecting, interpretation and display.
Through detailed object-based study, students will examine the connections between fashion, lived experience and cultural storytelling, while developing critical approaches to fashion history and curatorial practice.
The course will take a decolonising approach to fashion narratives, encouraging students to move beyond singular or dominant historical perspectives and instead explore how histories are continuously shaped and reshaped through different voices, experiences and methodologies.
Students will participate in a shared Fashion Narratives unit examining the relationship between narrative and history across museum, academic and curatorial contexts. The unit will explore how stories are constructed from incomplete archives and collections, and the ethical responsibilities involved in interpreting and presenting fashion histories today.
The course will also offer opportunities for students on the curation pathway to work on live projects with V&A East Storehouse and LCF's Cultural Programming, supported by the Centre for Fashion Curation. These projects may include curating displays, contributing to public programming and developing exhibitions.
To mark the launch of the partnership, LCF’s Centre for Fashion Curation and the V&A Research Institute will present Fashion Curation Now, a collaborative seminar exploring contemporary approaches to fashion curation, collecting and storytelling.
Taking place on Thursday 25 June 2026 at V&A East Storehouse, the event will bring together researchers, curators, conservators and museum professionals to discuss the evolving role of fashion curation in response to changing cultural, political and institutional contexts.
The seminar will feature two panel discussions focused on collecting and storytelling, exploring themes including decoloniality, sustainability, object-focused learning and the role of museums and archives in shaping fashion histories.
As part of the launch of MA Fashion Storytelling, the event will offer audiences an opportunity to engage with some of the ideas, themes and conversations that will shape the course and its approach to fashion history, research and curatorial practice.
Find out more about Fashion Curation Now and book your place on the V&A website.