Marie Antoinette Style Exhibition

V&A South Kensington is launching an out-of-home special build to create a buzz for its new Marie Antoinette Style exhibition.

The V&A tasked agency Anything is Possible with creating a customised OOH build that serves as a teaser for the exhibition experience, to drive awareness and engage with young audiences interested in fashion, beauty and design.

Created by agency Anything is Possible in collaboration with Jack Arts and Posterscope, the work will take over a high impact 10-in-a-row billboard in the iconic Vinegar Yard near London Bridge.

The OOH special build features exclusive scented tearaways designed to captivate audiences with an immersive street-level experience.

The scent, designed by AVM Curiosities exclusively for the exhibition, evokes Marie Antoinette’s signature aroma: ‘Powder and Rouge', a floral blend with notes of orris root, rose, lavender, tuberose, violet, musk, jasmine, and orange blossom.

The pink and purple tearaways are in 105 × 105 mm square format, and designed to mimic a handkerchief, with the Marie Antoinette monogram in the corners. They release scent when people scratch them, and on the reverse side audiences can read about the exhibition.

The base layer is formed of ten side-by-side posters featuring models dressed in colourful, cake-like dresses topped with elaborate wigs.

The campaign will be live for two weeks starting Monday 22 September, coinciding with the opening of the exhibition, which explores the lasting influence of the French queen Marie Antoinette - with over 250 years of design, fashion film and art.

Olivia Miller, Marketing Manager V&A said: “Our aim was to extend the exhibition experience beyond South Kensington and meet our audiences where they are - but also to surprise them with something they wouldn't expect from a traditional exhibition. By highlighting this unique experiential element, we hope to inspire curiosity, invite new visitors into Marie Antoinette’s world and showcase her enduring legacy and relevance as a contemporary cultural icon.”

Sam Fenton-Elstone, CEO Anything is Possible said:
“This campaign brings the signature style of Marie Antoinette to Vinegar Yard and allows people to immerse themselves in her powdery floral scent. Smell is a sense which connects directly to our memories and emotions, and is a perfect medium for making this complex, unique woman live again on the streets of the capital. We know it will inspire people to visit the exhibition and experience her life and times in a new and exciting way.”

The Marie Antoinette Style exhibition is sponsored by Manolo Blahnik.