Sun 13 Dec 2020 04.00 EST
In the past, I have sometimes criticised the V&A for the way its blockbuster fashion shows have a tendency to make visitors feel as if theyâre in a shop, albeit a vast and extremely upmarket one â a deadening effect that may, or may not, be attributed to the influence of their big-label sponsors. But it seems that the months of lockdown have taken their toll not only on its latest exhibition, Bags: Inside Out, which has finally opened, having been delayed twice by the pandemic, but on me, too. Wandering its seductive displays, my fingertips tingling with covetousness, I rather enjoyed the sense that Iâd unaccountably stumbled on the worldâs best accessory store. In my notebook, I found myself carefully cataloguing the names of the bags I most longed to own â a game that became so dangerously real to me, I half considered asking the exhibitionâs curator, Dr Lucia Savi, for a price list.