The top 20 moments from the DIVA exhibition at Auckland Museum, ranked
This week in attention economy news, JoJo Siwa is threatening to release her cover of 'Bette Davis Eyes' on Spotify. In the short video she's already released, she sounds like she's swallowed three packets of cigs and auto tuned the raspy result. She looks like she wants to fuck around and find out what being a tradwife is. Turning what I assume are her own Bette Davis eyes towards the camera as several strands of pearls threaten to engulf her head, it's clear her Gene Simmons, Karma era is over. This is what everyone is talking about right now. Next week, it will be something else.
In 2025, new viral obsessions are spawned, devoured and pronounced dead within 24 hours. The average human attention span is about eight seconds, which is a perfect capsule for everyone's six seconds of fame. Everything is new, yet nothing truly is. We've never been more immersed in celebrity gossip, commentary, and access. We've also never been so context-poor and so deprived of enduring cultural meaning.
Meeting this moment is DIVA, an exhibition developed by the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) in London, currently housed at Auckland Museum until October. It's the perfect example of what a museum exhibition should be in 2025. It is accessible and relevant, brimming with pop culture references and real-life spectacle you just can't experience during your daily scrolls. It presents serious hypotheses about gender, the tension between attention and exposure and the true meaning of genius and celebrity. Most importantly, it reminds us that we all stand on the shoulders of giants and that cultural connective tissue binds our past to our present.
It's also a welcome boon for the museum. Two of its most popular attractions have been closed indefinitely due to the detection of asbestos, adding another item to Wayne Brown's 'Fix Auckland' list.
Here are the top 20 moments ranked according to historical significance, pop culture heft and spectacle, with a few subjective calls based on when I cried, gasped and flamed with joy.
20. Exit through the gift shop
The museum and gallery trick of forcing you to leave through the gift shop at the end of an exhibition might be one of my all-time favourite retail strategies. I always end up buying something. DIVA is no different. Nobody needs a $300 pair of diamante-studded glasses from Elton John's line of eyewear, but did I stop and try them on? Yes. Will I be back to purchase some prints of Nina Simone, Grace Jones, and Benny and the Jets era Elton? Absolutely. My love of retail strategy is also niche, hence the lower ranking. To be clear, the rare gems are located in the exhibition, not the shop.
19. Barbra and the purple extravaganza from Funny Girl
It's the dress and the coat. So much chiffon.
18. Finding your own diva
There's a red carpet and many spots for posing. I did mine in the gift shop, you do you hunny diva child.
17. The full arc of Maria Callas
Two of Callas's most iconic costumes are displayed together – her blue dress from her 1952 London debut in Norma and the red gown from her final stage performance in Tosca (1965). Diva is an Italian word, and the exhibition explores its origin, weaponisation and reclamation. None of that is possible without homage being paid to the ultimate opera diva.
16. The moment you realise you're tripping the audio
Moving through the exhibition, you wear a pair of pretty chic and futuristic headphones. Audio experiences at museums and galleries are pretty common these days, but a few minutes into DIVA, you realise the audio you hear along the way is being triggered by your movement through the space. There's nothing like hearing 'Pynk' by Janelle Monáe while staring deep into the folds of her vulva (pants).
15. The moment you realise you could be tripping
Björk gown. The end.
14. The wall quotes
So many, all good. Collect the set. Get them tattooed.
13. The early showgirl cossies
The mannequins have hips!
12. Grace Jones's breastplate
First created by Issey Miyake for his 1980 Autumn-Winter collection, it looks like liquid hard-moulded to the body. Various iterations of the Miyake breastplate have been worn by Grace Jones during her career, including in this recording of her performing 'I Need A Man'.
11. Nina makes me cry
The selected photos and audio combine to capture a significant portion of Nina Simone's power, anger and legacy.
10. Marilyn Monroe's fringed black dress
Worn when she played Sugar Kane in Some Like It Hot (1959), this was Marilyn at the peak of her powers. Funny, vulnerable and pre the disastrous and tragic rekindling of relations with the Kennedys.
9. The Pierce, Davis, Garland triptych
Next to a Mildred Pierce costume is a poster for All About Eve, another all-time great film starring another diva, Bette Davis. If we're talking about 'Bette Davis Eyes', I recommend staring into the real ones (as Margot Channing) instead of JoJo Siwa's. Drag queen Charles Busch once described fictional divas Norma Desmond and Margo Channing as 'powerful women fighting for their rights in a straight man's world' and the exhibition's rich recounting of the way Hollywood regarded and treated 'difficult women' is useful set up for the reclamation of the term explored in the exhibition's later stages.
8. All the Bob Mackie
There are at least four Bob Mackie for Cher designs in the exhibition, one he did for Liza Minnelli for New York New York and the flame dress he made for Tina Turner. Mackie remains unrivalled in his ability to blend costume with couture. He was also a master of costume sketches, and DIVA includes many of the sketches for the creations you can then see in their full glory.
7. Realising you need to step up the game for your 50th birthday
Elton John wore the Sandy Powell design featured in the exhibition to his 50th birthday party. It was so ostentatious and large that he had to be trucked in. If nothing else, it was a good reminder that birthdays should be all about you, and you should step up and into a proper frock.
6. Our very own diva
For the Auckland leg of this touring exhibition, Aotearoa's own diva, Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, has lent her millennium coat, worn at the New Year's Day performance she participated in as part of a 30-hour live television special broadcast to one billion people worldwide. Contains feathers and cultural touchstones.
5. Whitney makes me cry
She was so beautiful and talented. The exhibition includes radiant photos of Houston and the dress she wore to the 1994 Grammy Awards, designed by Marc Bouwer.
4. The dress Joan Crawford wore in Mildred Pierce
The 1945 film noir Mildred Pierce is one of my all-time favourite movies. It was one of the first old Hollywood films I watched that made me realise contemporary culture didn't have a monopoly on portraying complicated, complex, and sometimes difficult women. The dress itself, designed by Milo Anderson, was worn by Crawford in the film as she begins running her restaurant. It transitioned her away from plain, housewife garb into more structured and shoulder-padded suiting, marking her changing station and wealth.
3. The size of Prince's feet
If you know, you know, but the exhibition contains a pair of Prince's shoes. They confirm Prince's likely origin as a pixie sent from on high to deliver music for the ages while emanating an ambiguous, raw and real sexual power.
2. The vulva pants
I would sell an organ (if required) to see Janelle Monáe live. A high-concept fashion icon, the vulva pants worn for the 2018 'Pynk' video were peak vulva-inspired dressing, and frankly, we don't have enough of that.
1. Rihanna as pope
Rihanna owns the Met Gala carpet and has done for a decade now. For the 2018 Met Gala, themed 'Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination', Rihanna wore a papal-inspired outfit designed by John Galliano for Maison Margiela. In my humble opinion, it ranks as one of the best Met Gala themes and one of Rihanna's best looks. We don't often get to see John Galliano's designs beyond our magazines and screens here, so seeing this beaded creation in person was truly the highlight for me. Rihanna's star began rising in 2005, and she remains an enigmatic diva with enduring popularity. My one true pope. My one true diva.
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Bow down bitches, the true divas are in town. This week in attention economy news, JoJo Siwa is threatening to release her cover of 'Bette Davis Eyes' on Spotify. In the short video she's already released, she sounds like she's swallowed three packets of cigs and auto tuned the raspy result. She looks like she wants to fuck around and find out what being a tradwife is. Turning what I assume are her own Bette Davis eyes towards the camera as several strands of pearls threaten to engulf her head, it's clear her Gene Simmons, Karma era is over. This is what everyone is talking about right now. Next week, it will be something else. In 2025, new viral obsessions are spawned, devoured and pronounced dead within 24 hours. The average human attention span is about eight seconds, which is a perfect capsule for everyone's six seconds of fame. Everything is new, yet nothing truly is. We've never been more immersed in celebrity gossip, commentary, and access. We've also never been so context-poor and so deprived of enduring cultural meaning. Meeting this moment is DIVA, an exhibition developed by the Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) in London, currently housed at Auckland Museum until October. It's the perfect example of what a museum exhibition should be in 2025. It is accessible and relevant, brimming with pop culture references and real-life spectacle you just can't experience during your daily scrolls. It presents serious hypotheses about gender, the tension between attention and exposure and the true meaning of genius and celebrity. Most importantly, it reminds us that we all stand on the shoulders of giants and that cultural connective tissue binds our past to our present. It's also a welcome boon for the museum. Two of its most popular attractions have been closed indefinitely due to the detection of asbestos, adding another item to Wayne Brown's 'Fix Auckland' list. Here are the top 20 moments ranked according to historical significance, pop culture heft and spectacle, with a few subjective calls based on when I cried, gasped and flamed with joy. 20. Exit through the gift shop The museum and gallery trick of forcing you to leave through the gift shop at the end of an exhibition might be one of my all-time favourite retail strategies. I always end up buying something. DIVA is no different. Nobody needs a $300 pair of diamante-studded glasses from Elton John's line of eyewear, but did I stop and try them on? Yes. Will I be back to purchase some prints of Nina Simone, Grace Jones, and Benny and the Jets era Elton? Absolutely. My love of retail strategy is also niche, hence the lower ranking. To be clear, the rare gems are located in the exhibition, not the shop. 19. Barbra and the purple extravaganza from Funny Girl It's the dress and the coat. So much chiffon. 18. Finding your own diva There's a red carpet and many spots for posing. I did mine in the gift shop, you do you hunny diva child. 17. The full arc of Maria Callas Two of Callas's most iconic costumes are displayed together – her blue dress from her 1952 London debut in Norma and the red gown from her final stage performance in Tosca (1965). Diva is an Italian word, and the exhibition explores its origin, weaponisation and reclamation. None of that is possible without homage being paid to the ultimate opera diva. 16. The moment you realise you're tripping the audio Moving through the exhibition, you wear a pair of pretty chic and futuristic headphones. Audio experiences at museums and galleries are pretty common these days, but a few minutes into DIVA, you realise the audio you hear along the way is being triggered by your movement through the space. There's nothing like hearing 'Pynk' by Janelle Monáe while staring deep into the folds of her vulva (pants). 15. The moment you realise you could be tripping Björk gown. The end. 14. The wall quotes So many, all good. Collect the set. Get them tattooed. 13. The early showgirl cossies The mannequins have hips! 12. Grace Jones's breastplate First created by Issey Miyake for his 1980 Autumn-Winter collection, it looks like liquid hard-moulded to the body. Various iterations of the Miyake breastplate have been worn by Grace Jones during her career, including in this recording of her performing 'I Need A Man'. 11. Nina makes me cry The selected photos and audio combine to capture a significant portion of Nina Simone's power, anger and legacy. 10. Marilyn Monroe's fringed black dress Worn when she played Sugar Kane in Some Like It Hot (1959), this was Marilyn at the peak of her powers. Funny, vulnerable and pre the disastrous and tragic rekindling of relations with the Kennedys. 9. The Pierce, Davis, Garland triptych Next to a Mildred Pierce costume is a poster for All About Eve, another all-time great film starring another diva, Bette Davis. If we're talking about 'Bette Davis Eyes', I recommend staring into the real ones (as Margot Channing) instead of JoJo Siwa's. Drag queen Charles Busch once described fictional divas Norma Desmond and Margo Channing as 'powerful women fighting for their rights in a straight man's world' and the exhibition's rich recounting of the way Hollywood regarded and treated 'difficult women' is useful set up for the reclamation of the term explored in the exhibition's later stages. 8. All the Bob Mackie There are at least four Bob Mackie for Cher designs in the exhibition, one he did for Liza Minnelli for New York New York and the flame dress he made for Tina Turner. Mackie remains unrivalled in his ability to blend costume with couture. He was also a master of costume sketches, and DIVA includes many of the sketches for the creations you can then see in their full glory. 7. Realising you need to step up the game for your 50th birthday Elton John wore the Sandy Powell design featured in the exhibition to his 50th birthday party. It was so ostentatious and large that he had to be trucked in. If nothing else, it was a good reminder that birthdays should be all about you, and you should step up and into a proper frock. 6. Our very own diva For the Auckland leg of this touring exhibition, Aotearoa's own diva, Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, has lent her millennium coat, worn at the New Year's Day performance she participated in as part of a 30-hour live television special broadcast to one billion people worldwide. Contains feathers and cultural touchstones. 5. Whitney makes me cry She was so beautiful and talented. The exhibition includes radiant photos of Houston and the dress she wore to the 1994 Grammy Awards, designed by Marc Bouwer. 4. The dress Joan Crawford wore in Mildred Pierce The 1945 film noir Mildred Pierce is one of my all-time favourite movies. It was one of the first old Hollywood films I watched that made me realise contemporary culture didn't have a monopoly on portraying complicated, complex, and sometimes difficult women. The dress itself, designed by Milo Anderson, was worn by Crawford in the film as she begins running her restaurant. It transitioned her away from plain, housewife garb into more structured and shoulder-padded suiting, marking her changing station and wealth. 3. The size of Prince's feet If you know, you know, but the exhibition contains a pair of Prince's shoes. They confirm Prince's likely origin as a pixie sent from on high to deliver music for the ages while emanating an ambiguous, raw and real sexual power. 2. The vulva pants I would sell an organ (if required) to see Janelle Monáe live. A high-concept fashion icon, the vulva pants worn for the 2018 'Pynk' video were peak vulva-inspired dressing, and frankly, we don't have enough of that. 1. Rihanna as pope Rihanna owns the Met Gala carpet and has done for a decade now. For the 2018 Met Gala, themed 'Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination', Rihanna wore a papal-inspired outfit designed by John Galliano for Maison Margiela. In my humble opinion, it ranks as one of the best Met Gala themes and one of Rihanna's best looks. We don't often get to see John Galliano's designs beyond our magazines and screens here, so seeing this beaded creation in person was truly the highlight for me. Rihanna's star began rising in 2005, and she remains an enigmatic diva with enduring popularity. My one true pope. My one true diva.
