Saul Nash Brings Movement to the Museum with V&A Fashion in Motion

On Friday, March 6th, London designer Saul Nash staged a specially commissioned performance for the Victoria and Albert Museum as part of its long-running Fashion in Motion programme in South Kensington.

For Nash, movement has always been central. The London-based designer – also a trained dancer – builds his menswear around the mechanics of the body. Fabrics are breathable, silhouettes allow freedom, and garments are cut with motion in mind. It’s a philosophy that has shaped his shows in both London and Milan, where dancers frequently replace traditional catwalk models to communicate ideas of spirituality, transformation and the evolving identity of modern masculinity.

At the V&A, Nash choreographed a live piece staged three times throughout the day in the museum’s Raphael Court. The setting was significant: the performance unfolded beneath the monumental Raphael cartoons, tapestries first designed in 1516, alongside a gilded Spanish altarpiece. Nash has said that entering the space felt like stepping into a place of worship.

Working with eight dancers – many familiar faces from his runway presentations – Nash created a ritualistic performance that blurred the boundary between audience and stage. The dancers initially appeared as spectators before gradually assembling in the centre of the room, moving in synchronised patterns to a live sound installation by Azekel.

Their movement oscillated between controlled gestures and bursts of frantic energy, echoing each other in ceremonial sequences that played against harsh, pulsating rhythms. Against the Renaissance backdrop, the choreography felt like a contemporary echo of the human figures painted on the surrounding walls.

The performers wore pieces from Nash’s SS26 collection, which examines gesture, intimacy and physical connection. Highlights included chest-bearing Henley tops, laser-etched denim twinsets and compression tops printed with reaching hands across the torso, as if one body were holding another.

The SS26 collection is available now at saulnash.com.