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Marie Antoinette Style
Online course
+44 (0)20 7942 2000
Being up close with treasured objects from the V&A's collections brings your learning to life. Get precious time with our expert tutors and your fellow learners.
Choose between three ticket types: Course, Course plus Gallery Talks or Online Stream!
Accompanying our upcoming Marie Antoinette Style exhibition, join us on this 5 week online course to discover the enduring allure of Marie Antoinette – undoubtedly history’s most fashionable queen. Uncover her 18th-century style evolution, life at the French court, and her captivating legacy that continues to intrigue and inspire across generations.
Learn from our world-class experts wherever you are, whenever suits you: watch lectures live or view the recording later in your own time. You can experience the full breadth and depth of the V&A's collections with more than 10 hours of study over 5 weeks. Learn at your own pace: lecture recordings and study materials, lecture notes, copies of the presentations, and additional study materials are available in our secure Microsoft Teams environment for 5 weeks after the course ends, so you'll never miss a thing. And finally, join the conversation: share your perspective with your fellow students, and support each other in your further enquiries outside of class time.
Learn from our world-class experts wherever you are, whenever suits you: watch lectures live or view the recording later in your own time. You can experience the full breadth and depth of the V&A's collections with more than 10 hours of study over 5 weeks. Learn at your own pace: lecture recordings and study materials, lecture notes, copies of the presentations, and additional study materials are available in our secure Microsoft Teams environment for 5 weeks after the course ends, so you'll never miss a thing. And finally, join the conversation: share your perspective with your fellow students, and support each other in your further enquiries outside of class time.
V&A Academy Course Leader
Helena Cox
Helena Cox is the Research Assistant for Marie Antoinette Style. With expertise in 18th-century court culture and fashion history, she has previously worked for the Impressionist and Modern Art department at Christie’s, King Street. She graduated from the University of Edinburgh with a First-Class MA in History of Art.
I loved all parts. One part that especially interested me was the link to objects in the V&A collection. Previous V&A Academy Online Course Attendee
Course overview
Marie Antoinette’s name evokes beauty, extravagance, notoriety, and the enduring myth: ‘Let them eat cake!’ This course explores the distinctive style she cultivated during her lifetime, culminating in an examination of the reawakening of her style spell and its lasting influence, from the 19th century and the Art Deco heyday (1920–1930) to 21st-century fashion.
Step into Marie Antoinette’s world, beginning with her fateful carriage ride from Vienna to Versailles as a young princess bride plunged into life at the French court. We will trace her style evolution from Dauphine to Queen, uncovering the creators who shaped her iconic image and examining the decorative legacy she left behind in her private bucolic realm, the Petit Trianon.
Discover 18th century splendour as we learn about paintings, her surviving belongings including sparkling jewels and decorative arts, together with exquisite period pieces from the V&A and museum collections. We will uncover fashion during the Revolution and Marie Antoinette’s declining reputation; the vilification of a scapegoat Queen whose path was hastened towards the guillotine, marking the end of an extraordinary chapter in history.
Step into Marie Antoinette’s world, beginning with her fateful carriage ride from Vienna to Versailles as a young princess bride plunged into life at the French court. We will trace her style evolution from Dauphine to Queen, uncovering the creators who shaped her iconic image and examining the decorative legacy she left behind in her private bucolic realm, the Petit Trianon.
Discover 18th century splendour as we learn about paintings, her surviving belongings including sparkling jewels and decorative arts, together with exquisite period pieces from the V&A and museum collections. We will uncover fashion during the Revolution and Marie Antoinette’s declining reputation; the vilification of a scapegoat Queen whose path was hastened towards the guillotine, marking the end of an extraordinary chapter in history.
V&A Academy. A learning environment you can trust.
Being up close with treasured objects from the V&A's collections brings your learning to life. Get precious time with our expert tutors and your fellow learners.
Choose between three ticket types: Course, Course plus Gallery Talks or Online Stream!
Enrol now
Online course: Marie Antoinette Style
28 October 2025 - 25 November 2025
£125.00
Need help enrolling? Talk to the admissions team:
+44 (0)20 7942 2000
Open 10.00 - 13.00, Monday to Sunday (closed 24-26 December)
Related events
Header image: François-Hubert Drouais (1727-1775), Portrait of Marie Antoinette in Court Dress, 1773, oil on canvas, 63.5 x 52, V&A: 529-1882