Rihanna, Lizzo and Marilyn Monroe shine in V&A's Diva exhibition

What springs to caput erstwhile you perceive the connection diva?

Mariah, who proudly owns the title? Beyoncé? Madonna?

You wouldn't beryllium incorrect - but the connection was coined agelong earlier our modern-day popular stars entered signifier left.

A caller accumulation titled Diva astatine London's Victoria and Albert Museum is showcasing costumes, artefacts and images from a troupe of fabulous queens, opening with opera singers and aboriginal soundless movie stars, and taking america done to today's A-list celebrities.

The archetypal diva, which means "goddess" successful Latin, referred to opera's starring ladies, oregon prima donnas. Their occurrence offered them an independency and bureau that fewer women had astatine the time.

Later, stars of signifier and screen, specified arsenic avant garde dancer Isadora Duncan, utilized their bodies arsenic a mean for expression, moving distant from restrictive corsets to flowing gowns (pictured above). The achromatic silk formal was designed by Mariano Fortuny and was inspired by Greek drapery.

More vulnerability was offered to soundless film's femme fatales with the maturation of the movie manufacture successful the aboriginal 20th Century. This representation shows Theda Bara, 1 of cinema's aboriginal enactment symbols, who starred successful 1917's Cleopatra. Playing up her vamp persona, Bara's Cleopatra costume was risqué and revealing, combining a accepted Egyptian look with burlesque seduction.

It's thought Bara designed her ain costumes, possibly inspired by her tailor begetter and wig-maker mother. The bulk of Bara's films were sadly mislaid successful a occurrence astatine Fox Studios' vault successful 1937.

Later, Hollywood's aureate epoch saw the likes of Mae West, Katharine Hepburn, Bette Davis and Marilyn Monroe instrumentality the spotlight. Monroe erstwhile responded to accusations of diva-ish behaviour by saying: "People deliberation that wherefore I'm precocious is immoderate benignant of arrogance... I deliberation it is the other of arrogance... I privation to beryllium prepared erstwhile I get determination to springiness a bully show to the champion of my ability."

This 1967 Andy Warhol screenprint of the surface siren is connected display, on with a achromatic fringed formal from Some Like It Hot.

Designed by Christian Dior, this formal was worn by treble Oscar victor Vivien Leigh successful 1958. There were allegations of alleged diva behaviour connected the acceptable of Gone With the Wind, but her co-star Olivia de Havilland defended her successful 2006, saying: "She had 2 large concerns: doing her champion enactment successful an highly hard relation and being separated from Larry [her past husband, Laurence Olivier], who was successful New York."

Meanwhile, modern opera divas continued to execute and bid worship crossed the globe, with Maria Callas's performances successful works specified Puccini's Tosca and Verdi's La Traviata becoming legendary successful the arts world. The representation supra shows Callas arsenic Violetta successful the second astatine the Royal Opera House successful 1958.

Since the 1960s, an property of intersexual liberation and governmental activism, modern divas person built connected the explanation of the word and reinvented it. Cher, Elton John and Diana Ross are pictured present astatine the Rock Awards astatine the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, California, successful 1975.

Cher's signifier costumes are ne'er understated. During a performance successful Los Angeles successful 2002, the vocalist told the assemblage to rapturous applause: "I person been a frickin' diva for 40 frickin' years!" Cher's iridescent two-piece from the 1975 Rock Music Awards is pictured beforehand left.

Tina Turner, who died past month, is besides honoured successful the exhibition. Her celebrated occurrence dress, designed by Bob Mackie, is connected display. He besides designed a akin formal for Cher, portion different stars including RuPaul and Beyoncé person besides gone connected to deterioration versions of it. Beyoncé wore hers erstwhile she paid tribute to Turner astatine the Kennedy Center Honors successful 2005.

Sir Elton John's 50th day look proves that divas don't person to beryllium female. The outfit was created by award-winning costume decorator Sandy Powell. Inspired by Louis XIV, France's decadent Sun King, it featured a immense wig and a 15ft (4.5m) train.

Pop prima Rihanna's Pope-inspired outfit from the 2018 Met Gala sits alongside Sir Elton's costume.

The ensemble, encrusted with pearls and jewels, was designed by Margiela. Harper's Bazaar mag said the vocalist had the winning outfit connected fashion's biggest nighttime of the year.

Janelle Monaé's celebrated 'vulva pants', which she wore for the Pynk euphony video successful 2018, are showcased astatine the exhibition. Designer Duran Lantink told BBC Minute the inspiration for the outfit was "empowerment of women, state of sexuality [and] adjacent rights".

About Damn Time vocalist Lizzo's faux ermine formal was worn with a sash embroidered with the words: "Don't beryllium a drag, beryllium a queen." It was designed by Viktor & Rolf, and tin besides beryllium seen astatine the V&A.

A diva is idiosyncratic who has "a beardown consciousness of self, an attitude, and knowing however to usage their voice", pb curator Kate Bailey said.

"We truly wanted to amusement that story... wherever they've fixed their dependable to change, from activism to planetary feminism. So it's a benignant of solemnisation of that broadside of the diva arsenic good arsenic the feathers and the sequins."

This representation shows signifier outfits from Billie Eilish (left) and Blondie (right). The accumulation besides features costumes and memorabilia from Lil Nas X, Amy Winehouse, Prince, Aretha Franklin, Doja Cat, Dame Shirley Bassey, Whitney Houston and more.

DIVA opens astatine the V&A successful London connected 24 June and runs until 7 April 2024.

All pictures taxable to copyright.