The Victoria and Albert Museum has announced Chintz, a landmark exhibition opening on 18 September 2027 at V&A South Kensington, tracing four centuries of South Indian chintz, the cotton fabric that became one of the most coveted, copied and contentious textiles in history. Bringing together the V&A's own world-class holdings with the exceptional private collection of Karun Thakar, the show reframes chintz not as a consumer product but as a form of art in its own right, celebrating its Indian makers among the most influential artists in design history.

Chintz: Indian Cotton Textiles from the Karun Thakar Collection

Spread with a detail of an 18th century palampore from the Karun Thakar Collection

Many of the pieces going on display feature in Chintz: Indian Cotton Textiles from the Karun Thakar Collection, the book produced by HALI for Thakar in partnership with ACC Art Books, with essays from leading scholars including the V&A's Avalon Fotheringham and the Metropolitan Museum's John Guy.

Spread with a detail of an 18th century palampore from the Karun Thakar Collection

18th century chintz dress panel

The exhibition lands in a landmark year for HALI too. From 13 to 17 October 2027, the magazine marks its own 50th anniversary in central London with a week of lectures, the return of the HALI Fair, and related exhibitions. A fitting moment to celebrate HALI's role in bringing this extraordinary textile history to a wider audience. Thus the exhibition providing an added reason for people to visit London on October 2027.