The Culture List: The Best Art and Fashion Exhibitions to See in September 2026

It’s a quiet dexterity

This September, art and fashion find quiet common ground. Across the world’s leading exhibitions, silhouettes become archive, and archive becomes conversation—between past and present, artist and legacy, craft and creativity. From landscape paintings to a trench coat’s 170-year history, this month’s spectacles remind us that the most compelling stories are often told through careful, deliberate hands. Here are the best art and fashion exhibitions to see this September 2026.

Here are all the best art and fashion exhibitions to see in September 2026:

Waldmüller: Landscapes

Now – 20 September 2026

Step into forests, mountains and golden Sicilian ruins in this first-ever exhibition devoted to Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller, one of Austria’s finest landscape painters. Expect intense colour, luminous skies and brushwork so precise it rivals the Pre-Raphaelites. In this exhibition, you’ll see how Waldmüller found beauty in imperfection, turning bare trunks and rugged peaks into scenes of transcendent calm.

Willem de Kooning Drawing, The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago

14 June – 20 September 2026

Ebbing and flowing with Willem de Kooning’s works—paintings, sculptures, printmaking and drawings—the Art Institute of Chicago is presenting the artist’s first solo exhibition. The renowned American artist who immigrated to New York from the Netherlands at the age of 22 is making his mark at the museum, shedding light on modern and contemporary art.

Yayoi Kusama, Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, Amsterdam

11 September – 17 January 2027

In a soft, unspoken act of gratitude, Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam is opening a landmark retrospective of Yayoi Kusama—exploring seven decades of Kusama’s groundbreaking and innovative work. From paintings to sculptures, installations, drawings, fashion and collages, the exhibition will showcase themes of infinity, self-obliteration and repetition, while exuding her influence on people worldwide. Her distinctive use of polka dots and mirror rooms will also be featured prominently.

The Burberry Trench: Crafting an Icon, V&A South Kensington, London

21 September – 3 January 2027

In honour of Burberry’s 170th anniversary, the British fashion house is displaying archival items narrating the history of the Burberry trench from its origins as practical outerwear and military attire to a world-renowned icon of fashion. The exhibition will also offer snippets of Burberry’s codes, history and sensibilities and how they defined an entire category of outerwear. The journey begins with Invention, then Craft takes centre stage, and Creativity closes it out. The best part? The spectacle will also showcase nineteen standout runway looks spanning two and a half decades, including designs from Chief Creative Officers Daniel Lee and Christopher Bailey.

Cezanne et nous, Grand Palais, Paris

23 September 2026 – 17 January 2027

This fall, Grand Palais will showcase an exhibition that unfolds as a double narrative: Paul Cézanne’s undeniable influence, and the artists who claimed, reinterpreted, and debated his legacy—culminating in our own contemporary gaze on the man still called the father of modern art. With nearly 180 works, from Gauguin and Matisse to Picasso, Mondrian, Mitchell, Riley, and Doig, the exhibition will be a symbolism for his belief that “art is a harmony parallel to nature”.