From Coco Chanel at the V&A in London to Women Dressing Women at the Met, these are the fashion exhibits at leading art museums around the world that we’re most excited about this fall and winter 2023.
what are the most highly anticipated fashion exhibits this Fall/Winter 2023?
Fashion. Can there be any more interesting subject? Not only does fashion play a major role in our daily lives, but it’s also a fascinating lens through which we can look at history, and of course – it’s a feast for the eyes.
We are so excited for the numerous ways in which museums across the globe will pay homage to our favorite medium of art this fall. Here are ten you should have on your radar this season – including the highly anticipated Coco Chanel exhibit, which will arrive in London this September.
10 must-see fashion exhibits this Fall/Winter 2023
1. Ann Lowe: American Couturier
New Castle County, Delaware. Winterthur Museum. September 9th, 2023 – January 7th, 2024.
If you don’t already know the name Ann Lowe, you should. One of the major designers of the twentieth century, Lowe created iconic gowns for many of the most famous women of the era –including movie star Olivia de Havilland, businesswoman Marjorie Merriweather Post, and Jacqueline Kennedy. As a Black female designer, Lowe often did not receive adequate recognition for her many accomplishments and contributions to the field. This new exhibit at the Winterthur Museum is the largest of her work to-date, featuring forty of her most significant pieces, as well as those by contemporary designers – such as Tracy Reese, Amsale Aberra, B Michael, and Bishme Cromartie – who have followed in Lowe’s extraordinary footsteps.
10 highly anticipated fashion exhibits this Fall and Winter 2023, including Coco Chanel in London.
2. Food & Fashion
New York, New York. The Museum at FIT. September 13th, 2023 – November 26th, 2023. Food and fashion. Two things we can’t live without. We wouldn’t always associate them with one another, but maybe we should – after all, both are necessities, both are forms of art, and both are convenient lenses through which we can analyze consumerism, gender studies, body politics, and more. In this new exhibit, FIT puts a spotlight on the often-invisible intersections between food and fashion, showcasing creations by Chanel, Moschino, Stella McCartney, and many others.
3. Gabrielle Chanel. Fashion Manifesto
London, England. Victoria and Albert Museum. Opening September 16th, 2023. It’s the event of the season. If there’s one museum exhibit you already have on your calendar, there’s a good chance that it’s this on: the first-ever UK exhibit dedicated to the work of Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel. The exhibit will follow Chanel’s career from the foundation of the House of Chanel, through the establishment of her signature design – focusing on the designer herself, rather than the House of Chanel in the present-day. Of course, there will be gorgeous pieces of clothing to admire, as well as informative talks, and never-before-revealed information about the icon. This is a must-see – even for those who are not as interested in the world of fashion.
The most highly-anticipated fashion exhibits at museums this Fall and Winter 2023.
4. Andrew Gn: Fashioning Singapore and the World
Singapore. Asian Civilisations Museum. Until September 17th. There is still one more to catch Andrew Gn: Fashioning Singapore and the World. One of the most significant designers in Singapore, Gn’s artistic influences span the globe. This exhibit offers a kaleidoscopic view of the designer and his world, putting more than a hundred of his extraordinary pieces on display, creating a replica of his atelier in Paris, and even offering an interactive fashion “try-on” section where visitors can interact with his most well-known motifs – images from the natural world such as coral and butterflies.
5. Fashion and Sport, From One Catwalk to Another
Paris, France. Musée des Arts Décoratifs. September 20th, 2023 – April 7th, 2024.
If you are already hungering for the summer 2024 Olympics in Paris, this new exhibit at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs is here to whet your appetite. The exhibit seeks to highlight the impact that sportswear has had on the rest of the fashion industry, bringing together 450 different pieces; as well as articles of clothing, you’ll find photographs, sketches, sculptures, paintings, films, and other items that illustrate the symbiotic relationship between these two dynamic industries.
6. Oh Boy! Boy’s Dress 1760 – 1930
London, England. Fashion and Textile Museum. September 29th – March 3rd, 2024. Curated by Amy de la Haye and Alasdair Peebles, this two-part exhibit digs deep into the history of boy’s clothing. The first part of the exhibit explores the age at which male children of this era were expected to enter the masculine world, while the second part, beginning December 21st, will look at the popularity of nautical attire for boys during this time. As always, clothing is a valuable tool through which we can understand the history – in this case, the history of gender presentation in young children.
From Coco Chanel to Andrew Gn, these are the most highly anticipated fashion exhibits this Fall and Winter 2023.
7. Africa Fashion
Brooklyn, New York. The Brooklyn Museum. Until October 22nd 2023. If you haven’t yet had the chance to catch the Africa Fashion exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum, you still have a few more weeks – go. Showcasing the spectacular innovation and creativity across the continent – and across the last seven decades – Africa Fashion is an exhibit to remember. Using music, film, and photography to create a multisensory experience – as well as 180 pieces of clothing – the exhibit strives to create a survey of fashion from twenty African countries, including the work of forty different designers. Among them, Kofi Ansah, Thebe Magugu, Shade Thomas-Fahm, Gouled Ahmed, and many more. Explore the vast diversity of these amazing works, which include both haute couture and ready-to-wear apparel.
8. Cloth, Construct, Culture: fashion builds a story
Portland, Oregon. Parallax Art Center. October 24th, 2023 – January 24th, 2024. Curated by Rhonda P. Hill, this upcoming exhibit examines the work of ten designers from around the world whose creations tell a story about the times we live in. Fashion can be a tool for change, and a mode of communication, and this exhibit highlights the work of those who are using the medium for exactly that.
9. Fashioning America: Grit to Glamour
New Orleans, Louisiana. New Orleans Museum of Art. Until November 26th, 2023. NOMA’s upcoming fashion exhibit is all about American designers. Spotlighting the work of more than 100 designers and brands, NOMA will give viewers the chance to admire the creations of Ji Won Choi, Virgil Ortiz, Isabel Toledo, Madam Olympe Boisse, Anna Sui, Hattie Carnegie, and many others. Presented in both English and Spanish, the exhibit will showcase the complicated history of fashion in America, including both red carpet gowns and ready-to-wear apparel.
Must-see fashion exhibits at museums all over the world this Fall and Winter 2023.
10. Women Dressing Women
New York, New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. December 7th, 2023 – March 3rd, 2024. Closing out the season, the Met’s Costume Institute will highlight the work and legacy of women fashion designers from the museum’s permanent collection. On display you will find more than seventy different womenswear designers represented, including Ann Lowe, Elsa Schiaparelli, Rei Kawakubo, Jeanne Lanvin, and many more. What a way to end 2023.
10 highly anticipated fashion exhibits best to love this Fall/Winter 2023
From Coco Chanel to Andrew Gn, these are the fashion exhibits at leading art museums we’re most excited to see this fall and winter 2023. What’s at the top of your list, dear reader?
