If you want to add a cultural touch to 2024 or make it a year of fashion exhibitions, then perhaps the following list can help. Last year, several large and small fashion exhibitions opened and several new exhibitions were announced. FashionUnited lists all international fashion trade fairs for you, sorted by the date of the last day of the exhibition.
Exhibitions nearby
Talking about fashion at the Hasselt Fashion Museum
Hasselt in Belgium is about an hour’s drive from Aachen. There is currently an interesting exhibition there: “We Need To Talk About Fashion”. Anyone who enters the fashion museum will hear a tape of derogatory laughter. “What are you wearing? Ha, ha, ha…” It makes visitors think about how we judge or judge each other (and ourselves) based on our appearance. With paper cutouts, soundscapes and slogans, the museum not only questions our own clothing, but also our own collection.
The exhibition “We Need To Talk About Fashion” can be seen until February 18, 2024.
Solo exhibition by Lisa Konno at Museum Jan, Amstelveen
A voluminous, bright pink robe from the Nobu collection, inspired by her Japanese father. With this impressive creation, fashion designer Lisa Konno was part of the successful exhibition “Best of Jan Jansen – 60 years of Shoes & Dutch Design” 2021 at the Museum Jan. In a few days her work will be on display again in this museum in Amstelveen near Amsterdam. And not just any exhibition – it’s a solo exhibition called “The Porcelain Body”. The exhibition has a Japanese touch, for which she created new works in which she combines Japanese porcelain with textiles.
The exhibition “The Porcelain Body” can be seen from February 14th to June 16th, 2024.
Ode to the Dutch fashion duo Viktor&Rolf at the Kunsthalle Munich
The Dutch designer duo Viktor Horsting and Rolf Snoeren (Viktor&Rolf) will be honored in Munich from February. The museum shows “Viktor&Rolf: Fashion Statements”, where more than a hundred of her most striking creations are on display. The exhibition also marks the first major retrospective of Viktor&Rolf in Germany. The fashion duo’s creations are presented alongside a selection of their dolls, inspired by antique porcelain dolls and dressed season after season in the designers’ most famous creations. The exhibition also features numerous videos, sketches and works by leading visual artists such as Andreas Gursky, Inez&Vinoodh and Ellen von Unwerth, as well as specially commissioned animated projections from the internationally renowned visual effects studio Rodeo FX, known for its work on series such as known is Stranger Things, Game of Thrones and Lord of the Rings.
The exhibition “Viktor&Rolf: Fashion Statements” can be seen from February 23rd to October 6th, 2024.
Fashion photography by Richard Avedon at the Kunsthalle Rotterdam
Summer 2024 begins with an exhibition about fashion photography by the world-famous American photographer Richard Avedon (1923-2004). The exhibition, which will be on view at the Kunsthalle in Rotterdam, is entitled “Relationships” and highlights both his groundbreaking contribution to fashion photography and his signature portrait photography in over 130 photos. He often has models portrayed several times at different times in their lives. The exhibition reveals aspects of the photographer’s work process, facets of the character of the people portrayed and the relationship between the two.
The exhibition “Relationships” can be seen from June 1st to October 6th, 2024.
“Diva” at the V&A Museum London/Kunsthalle Rotterdam
One alive “Diva” Anyone interested is recommended to take a trip to London, where the exhibition of the same name is currently waiting for them, which can also be seen in the Kunsthalle Rotterdam from autumn. Co-curated by the Victoria & Albert Museum London, the exhibition explores and redefines the once controversial term “diva” – which originally meant “goddess” – and shows how it has been taken up in performance culture. On display are over 60 looks and costume designs from established fashion houses, which were worn by “divas” such as Maria Callas, Tina Turner, Shirley Bassey, Cher, Elton John, Rihanna and Billie Eilish.
The “Diva” exhibition can be seen in London until April 7, 2024 and in Rotterdam from October 26, 2024 to March 5, 2025.
Fashion adventures in Europe and the USA
The work of 300 young design talents at the Design Museum, London
300 young designers will be exhibited in the Design Museum in the English capital: “Rebel: 30 Years of London Fashion” showcases London’s unique fashion culture. You can see looks from designers such as JW Anderson, Christopher Kane, Molly Goddard, Steven Stokey Daley, Harri, Craig Green, Meadham Kirchhoff, Wales Bonner and Sinéad O’Dwyer. The exhibition also celebrates the 30th anniversary of the British Fashion Council’s NewGen program.
The exhibition “Rebel: 30 Years of London Fashion” is on view until February 11, 2024.
Gabrielle ‘Coco’ Chanel at the V&A Museum, London
Anyone staying in London should definitely visit the V&A Museum, where the first British exhibition dedicated to the work of French fashion designer Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel awaits. “Gabrielle Chanel. Fashion Manifesto” focuses on the founding of the fashion house Chanel and the evolution of her iconic design style, which continues to influence the way women dress today.
The exhibition “Gabrielle Chanel. “Fashion Manifesto” can be seen until February 28, 2024.
Ode to female designers at the MET Costume Institute, New York
A nine-hour flight away in New York, an exhibition at the MET Costume Institute dedicated to female designers is worth it: “Women Dressing Women”. This shows around 80 creations by more than 70 designers and is intended to honor their creativity and tradition. In addition, a picture of women’s fashion houses from the 20th century to the present is painted. Which designers are in the spotlight? Among others, Rei Kawakubo for Comme des Garçons, Gabriela Hearst, Claire McCardell, Miuccia Prada, Vivienne Westwood.
The exhibition “Women Dressing Women” can be seen until March 3, 2024.
Sculpture of the senses at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris
If you can’t wait until next year to see the Iris van Herpen exhibition in Rotterdam, you should take the Eurostar to Paris. In the Musée des Arts Décoratifs it says “Iris van Herpen. Sculpting the Senses“. Van Herpen’s universe comes to life through more than 100 creations. Her textile and technological explorations flirt with her desire to reimagine fashion and give it a future at a time when our consumption habits are being upended by climate change. The exhibition takes visitors on a journey from creation to creation and leads them through the world of the designer who creates futuristic fashion that could be described as “strange” if art were not that in nature.
The exhibition “Iris van Herpen. Sculpting the Senses” can be seen in Paris until April 28th and at the Kunsthalle Rotterdam from 2025.
Icons of British fashion at Blenheim Palace, Woodstock (Oxfordshire)
Blenheim Palace pays attention to icons of British fashion, including Stella McCartney, Bruce Oldfield and Vivienne Westwood. The exhibition celebrates fashion past and present and is considered the largest to date. “Icons of British Fashion is the first of its kind at Blenheim Palace and we are extremely proud to be working with some of the world’s most famous designers and brands to create a collection of clothing, accessories and art pieces,” comments Kate Ballenger, manager of the Blenheim Palace and the collections, in a statement.
The exhibition can be seen from March 23 to June 30, 2024.
FIT Museum in New York makes a statement
What is a statement sleeve? That is the question that the Museum of the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) in New York is asking itself. The answer is presented in an exhibition that shows no fewer than 80 fashion pieces. “Statement Sleeves” features the work of designers such as Balenciaga, Tom Ford, Schiaparelli, Vivienne Westwood and Thierry Mugler. The exhibition guides visitors through an exploration of how sleeves serve as an important means of self-expression, reflecting gestures, movements and specific fashion eras.
The exhibition “Statement Sleeves” can be seen until August 25, 2024.
Sleeping Beauty at the MET Costume Institute, New York
We stay in New York, where the exhibition “Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion” awaits us. She explores concepts such as “rebirth” and “renewal,” using nature as a metaphor for “transient fashion.” The exhibition showcases research, conservation analysis and various technologies “to revive and explore the sensory capabilities of masterpieces in the museum’s collection.” Artificial intelligence, augmented reality and computer-generated images are used, as are x-rays, video animations, light projections and soundscapes. A total of 250 items of clothing and accessories from four centuries are on display.
The exhibition “Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion” is on view from May 10 to September 2, 2024.
Immerse yourself in the world of Barbie at the Design Museum, London
Anyone who hasn’t had enough of the fashion doll after watching the Barbie film can visit the Design Museum in London Barbie world immerse yourself. Starting this summer, the museum will display a 65-year timeline of the fashion doll. The Barbie story began in 1959 when Ruth Handler wanted to create a different story for her daughter Barbara. The exhibition explores the design evolution of one of the world’s most famous dolls through design, including fashion, architecture, furniture and car design. For the exhibition, which has been in the works for years, the Design Museum was given access to the Barbie archives in California.
The Barbie exhibition will be on view from July 5, 2024 to February 23, 2025.
This article originally appeared on FashionUnited.nl. Translated and edited by Simone Preuss.