Back in February, I attended a press dinner to celebrate the forthcoming opening of the V&A East’s gift shop.
Each journalist was sandwiched between the makers behind the products on offer, from jewellery designers to ceramicists. I was sat next to the manager of Jumbo Records, a cult record store in Leeds that’s been serving locals great music since the early 70s – and now visitors to the V&A East’s The Music Is Black exhibition. Before long, Matt, as he was called, had given me an entire playlist based on my preferences of songs and artists to dig into. I’ve been listening to Soul Jazz Records’ back catalogue ever since. Museum gift shops, I decided, had upped their game. What Matt did was what all good museum gift shops do now, which is to create a personal connection between the museum and the visitor.
“They are becoming more of a brand in their own right – people want to be part of the club,” says Phoebe Gatehouse, the V&A’s senior buyer. “They are also a bigger part of the experience – visitors expect to see a shop now and really value, as they always have, the chance to take away their very own artwork, whether as a limited edition print or a magnet.”
V&A East Museum The Music is Black Shop; photo by Hufton+Crow
Over the last few years, museum gift shops have undergone a revamp. While in the past, they were often seen as an appendage to the exhibition, they are now an integral part of the experience. In the same way brandishing a canvas bag from Il Pellicano is a status symbol and a mark of a discerning traveller, stepping out with a Tate tote is a signifier of cultural intellectualism. Harry Styles is a prime example, having been photographed with a National Portrait Gallery David Hockney tote last summer. “Museum gift shops have become a lot more discerning and design-led, with the aim of becoming destination shops in their own right,” explains Ed Simpson, head of buying at the National Portrait Gallery. “They offer a unique curation of products, a lot of which are exclusive to the museum.”
The product offering is more thoughtful – you can still find the staple pencils, postcards and tea towels – but the best stores are now surprising visitors with desirable merch that reflects the shows they’ve just seen, in spaces that are well-lit, and well-designed. It isn’t just the V&A who are delivering the goods. The National Portrait Gallery’s current Lucian Freud showcase, Drawing Into Painting, was launched with a capsule collection with his daughter, the fashion designer, Bella Freud, featuring T-shirts, a tote, baseball cap and sketchbook, bearing her signature handwritten style. Previous merch collaborators include Tracey Emin and Luke Edward Hall. The point is to create a more personal, but elevated relationship between the visitor and the museum or gallery, while also appealing to a broader number of people. “Collaborations like this one are an exciting way to interpret our exhibitions and gallery programme in a refreshing way,” says Simpson. “The way Bella responded to her father’s work in our exhibition was playful, taking key themes such as ‘everything is a portrait’ and turning them into Bella’s distinctive text designs. The tote bag and T-shirt featuring Bella’s handwriting have been so popular, appealing to a wide audience, some of whom might never have visited the exhibition but are aware of Bella’s designs.”
Bella Freud in one of her National Portrait Gallery T-shirts, £40; photo by David Parry/National Portrait Gallery
Bella Freud for NPG tote, £40; T-shirt, £40; zipped pouch, £18
The Tate Modern’s three gift shops also go beyond the obvious. Its curation of books are representative of its art-led, inclusive ethos (it’s my go-to for both adult and children’s presents), and its merch truly reflects the artist current spotlit. The gallery’s wildly popular Tracey Emin retrospective is complimented by a line of T-shirts featuring the words of her famed neons, but in her handwriting instead, alongside mugs, caps and blankets starring images of her beloved cats, Teacup and Pancake. “We’ve seen a real evolution of gift shops in the last 10 years or so since I’ve been working in the sector,” says Elizabeth Lovatt, head of merchandise for Tate Commerce. “There’s now a focus on thought-out and carefully designed objects; attention is paid to the storytelling of both the artwork it’s reproducing, as well as the maker and materials. In a world where you can purchase almost anything cheaply online, we aim to offer something authentic, ethically made and considered, that you can’t find anywhere else.”
Like the National Portrait Gallery and the V&A East, Lovatt and her team work closely with each respective artist or their Estate to create a range that feels authentic to them. Classic merch items, such as T-shirts, totes, posters and magnets continue to sell well among visitors, as do accessories such as baseball caps, pin badges and stickers which can be used to personalise items we already own, turning them into wearable art. “We usually start by sharing ideas for products and we love to hear from artists about their ambitions for merchandise,” says Lovatt. “From there, we work back to what is actually feasible, all the while ensuring we have key products covered like postcards and tote bags. Nothing is off the table to start with. We’ve had requests to create everything from clockwork toys to condoms and ashtrays.”
The pressure to create appealing items for visitors to take away as mementoes isn’t, of course, entirely altruistic. The UK government plans to spend over a third less per citizen on Culture, Media and Sport by 2029 compared with 2010. “Income generation is ever more vital to museums, which raises expectations,” says Annabelle Cruickshank, head of buying and range development at the National Gallery, which expanded its gift offering as part of its recent 200th anniversary celebrations. “It also creates an environment for more ambitious and creative sourcing and product development. A museum shop has a unique context where we are tasked with reflecting and responding to a collection or location that has many stories to tell and ideas to share. The challenge and the joy is to draw out themes and stories that can successfully transform into product. A good story can inspire new designs or ways of looking at something.”
Storytelling with soul; who knew it could be such a recipe for commercial success?
Ella Alexander is Citizen Femme’s fashion features editor. She started her career at the Evening Standard, and has since held senior editorial roles at Vogue, The Independent and Harper’s Bazaar, where she remains a contributing editor. She also writes for The Telegraph, Sunday Times Style, Service95 and CNN. She is an author, having co-written Dame Zandra Rhodes’ memoir, Iconic: My Life In Fashion In 50 Objects, published by Transworld in July 2024. Her favourite travel destination is Catania, Sicily’s second city.
Lead image: National Portrait Gallery
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