All The Best Fashion Exhibitions to Visit in 2026

1 March – 1 November 2026

Fashion designer Elsa Schiaparelli was a provocateur who challenged conventional dress through witty, elegant and strikingly surreal designs that incorporate humour and surprise. Working within traditional tailoring while subverting it with extraordinary materials and Surrealist imagery—including collaborations with Salvador Dalí and Jean Cocteau—she created unique fashion statements that invite viewers to look again. This UK-first exhibition spans the 1920s to today, tracing the fashion house’s groundbreaking origins through pieces like her iconic black jumper knitted with a white bow, the ‘Tears’ dress and celebrating its evolution under current creative director Daniel Roseberry. The exhibition will comprise over 200 objects, including garments, accessories, jewellery, paintings, photographs, sculpture, furniture, perfumes and archive material—Schiaparelli’s most radical designs.

Many Shades of Grès, State Museums of Berlin, Berlin

15 March – 11 October

Before the world knew her name, Germaine Émilie Krebs was already rewriting the rules. The woman who would become Madame Grès—couturière to Grace Kelly, Greta Garbo, and Marlene Dietrich—treated fabric the way a sculptor treats marble: gathering meters of silk into breathtaking, body-hugging pleats inspired by classical antiquity. Now, Berlin’s Kunstgewerbemuseum is giving her the retrospective she deserves. Many Shades of Grès brings together 25 of her most extraordinary pieces alongside student reinterpretations, archival photography, sculpture, and digital installations—a full, immersive portrait of a designer who was, quite simply, in a category of her own.

Vivienne Westwood: Rebel – Storyteller – Visionary, The Bowes Museum, Durham

28 March – 6 September

Honouring one of fashion’s most provocative British designers, Vivienne Westwood, this unofficial exhibition outlines her journey in rule-breaking approaches—rebellion and tradition—when it comes to fashion. Spanning the early 1980s to the 2000s, the exhibition features pieces from rarely seen private collections made possible by the collaboration with Peter Smithson and the Bowes Museum’s own collection. From mock-up calico toiles to deconstructed garments and archival pieces, this exhibition gives you a glimpse of Westwood’s artistry.

The Givenchiaga Family, Cristóbal Balenciaga Museum, Spain

28 March – 22 February 2027

Staged in time for Hubert de Givenchy’s birth, The Givenchiaga Family exhibition revisits Cristóbal Balenciaga and Hubert de Givenchy’s kinship origins through a series of silhouettes, retrospects and archival pieces. Presenting 35 works by both designers in a chronological order spanning 1956 to 1972, the exhibition features tailoring techniques, their shared philosophy and the gradual evolution of fashion. Among the treasures awaiting you: a ravishing evening gown in yellow Gros de Naples silk, its surface alive with chenille embroidery in a riot of colour—a deeply personal piece, gifted by Balenciaga to Givenchy himself. Then there is Givenchy’s own August 1967 evening ensemble, as dramatic as it is refined: a sweeping draped cape and gown in flamingo pink silk gazar, the fitted bodice shimmering with silver, sequins and pearls.

The Antwerp Six, MoMu-Fashion Museum Antwerp, Belgium

31 March 2026 – 17 January 2027

MoMu is celebrating 40 years of the Antwerp Six—Dirk Bikkembergs, Ann Demeulemeester, Walter Van Beirendonck, Dries Van Noten, Dirk Van Saene, and Marina Yee—with a unique exhibition this month and beyond. Tracing back the extraordinary journey of these visionary designers, the exhibition will honour the “enduring legacy and profound influence on the art of fashion”. From archival pieces to their comprehensive history, you’ll learn why their unique designs continue to influence international fashion today.

Costume Art, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City

10 May 2026 – 10 January 2027

The Costume Institute’s spring 2026 exhibition will explore the centrality of the dressed body by pairing garments with artworks to illuminate the intrinsic relationship between clothing and the body. Concentrating on Western art from prehistory to the present, Costume Art creates dialogues between fashion pieces and objects from across the Museum’s departments, exploring connections ranging from formal to conceptual, aesthetic to political, individual to universal, illustrative to symbolic, and playful to profound. These pairings are arranged through thematic interpretations of the body that demonstrate their persistence across time and cultures.

The Women of René Bouché, Acne Paper Palais Royal, Paris

9 April – 7 June

Remembered as Vogue’s fashion artist, René Bouché, was admired for his experimental elegance with illustrations—capturing beauty and the quiet depiction of women’s lives. To honour the artist, Acne Paper will be displaying 70 portrait drawings from René Bouché Studio Archive. For decades, these works rested quietly in portfolios at the home of the artist’s widow, Denise Bouché—preserved and unseen. Curated by Dean Rhys-Morgan, this exhibition brings them together for the first time since Bouché’s final exhibition at the Alexander Iolas Gallery in 1957. Together, they form a breathtaking image of women—notable figures, aviators, patrons, collectors, society hostesses and international personalities—who stood at the very heart of mid-twentieth-century cultural and social life.

Queen Elizabeth II: Her Life in Style, The King’s Gallery, London

10 April – 18 October

In the year Queen Elizabeth would have turned 100 years old, the King’s Gallery celebrates it with a historical exhibition showcasing the remarkable style of Britain’s longest-reigning monarch. The Queen Elizabeth II: Her Life in Style will feature about 200 items, with three world-renowned British designers—Erdem Moralioglu, Richard Quinn and Christopher Kane contributing pieces to the gallery. The exhibition will highlight rarely seen and never-before-displayed items from the late Queen’s wardrobe, worn throughout her life, from her christening robe to wedding and coronation dresses. Archival Jewellery, hats, shoes and accessories will also make an appearance, emphasising the relevance and significance of British fashion.

Iris van Herpen: Sculpting the Senses, Brooklyn Museum, New York

16 May – 6 December

Bringing together more than 140 haute couture creations, the Iris van Herpen: Sculpting The Senses exhibition pays homage to one of today’s most revolutionary fashion designers. Evoking a nebulous sense of artistry, the showcase integrates the museum’s art and science collection with contemporary works using art, design and scientific artefacts to bridge the gap between the atelier and the laboratory—between nature and technology. A visionary who pushes relentlessly against the boundaries of what fashion can be, this exhibition shows us avant-garde designs that depict how Iris van Herpen defied the limits of fashion while giving a glimpse inside her artistic process, imagination and inspiration.

Cartier Melbourne Winter Masterpieces 2026, National Gallery Victoria, Melbourne

12 June – 4 October

Through an illustrative and theatrical spectacle, Cartier is tracing the evolution of the Maison’s enduring legacy in art, design and savoir-faire. With more than 300 extraordinary objects—from precious jewels and historic gemstones to iconic watches and clocks —the “Cartier Melbourne Winter Masterpieces 2026” exhibition will showcase iconic pieces such as the panther brooch, the Tank watch, and the mystery clock, all under one roof. Even design drawings from the Cartier archives will illuminate the halls of the National Gallery of Victoria. Wandering through the gallery, you’ll see that the variety and extent of the collection tell you no one can do it like Cartier.