THEthe 2026 invites you to look beyond the dress and beyond the catwalk, to discover stories from different eras and contemporary interpretations of contemporary culture. As? The good news is that you don’t need a VIP Pass for the front row. But just book a ticket in time, and gain access to the exhibitions unmissable of the year.
Because, as those who attend teach museums and exhibitionsobserving slowly and carefully allows you to always discover something new. And the rich offer around the world leaves you spoiled for choice. From the pop art of Trieste to the minimalism of Vienna, up to the new title of the Met Museum. Any excuse is a good one to travel, observe and be inspired.
Events that combine fashion and culture
The new year puts fashion as a cultural language at the center more than ever. Clothes evolve from simple objects to wear into compelling stories (of creativity and life). To be absorbed through eras, in cities waiting to be discovered.
So, the fashion exhibition it is an invitation to travel, observe. To be inspired by contemporary contaminations and great classics, among neoclassical halls, Renaissance corridors and innovative architecture. That the great chapters of the history of fashion.
The archetypes of dress at the Met Museum in New York
One of the most anticipated exhibitions of the year is the one that traditionally debuts in the spring with the Met Gala. For 2026 the Costume Institute explores the dressed body through the collections of Metropolitan Museum in New Yorkputting clothes and works of art in dialogue to tell stories the profound link between fashion and physicality.
The promotional image of the upcoming exhibition at the Met Museum. (metmuseum.org)
The route promises to be very rich and crosses the history of Western art, from prehistory to today, uniting the leaders of Costume Institute to the objects of the other departments of the museum. Showing the infinite facets of how the way of dressing has always reflected identity, values and social transformations.
Helmut Lang in Vienna: the revolution of minimalism
Vienna hosts the first comprehensive retrospective of Helmut Langdrawing on the designer’s largest public archive, part of the MAK Collection since 2011. A unique opportunity to enter Lang’s creative mind and discover how his revolutionary ideas were born between 1986 and 2005.
The exhibition goes beyond the classic retrospective, with multimedia installations and site-specific works that tell how Lang changed the way we see fashion, identity and visual communication. The designer’s rigor and sensitivity, combined with a bold approach, challenged the rules of industry and society, transforming ideas into global trends that are still relevant and surprising today.
In Trieste with the styling of pop stars
And in Italy? The first openings that are absolutely not to be missed are staged primarily in Milan. With Antonio Marras and Maria Lai, who inaugurate the exhibition Paso Doble at the M77 Gallery on January 30.
And in Trieste, which from March 26th will be transformed into the capital of pop fashion thanks to Exposurethe exhibition dedicated to the Belgian stylist Tom Eerebout. That is, the mind behind some of the most iconic outfits of recent years, from Lady Gaga to Harry Styles.
The exhibition celebrates the stars, but also the young designers who emerged from the ITS Contest, creating a dialogue between different generations and styles. At the same time, monumental photographs along via Cassa di Risparmio they transform the city into a widespread museumwhere the body and clothing become protagonists of an urban and participatory narrative.