Tropical escapes and road trips by the mountains are all we can find these days but for those looking to learn alongside their leisure, visiting a museum can be the most rewarding. And for the fashion-forward, exhibitions all over the world are making this move even more appealing. From maisons opening up their archives to an intimate look into a royal’s closet, if planned right, the fashion-forward traveller can spend a whole summer indulged in fashion’s art, history, and cultural importance. Here are some of the spots worth booking a ticket for.
Cartier | The National Gallery of Victoria (NGV), Melbourne, Australia
Jewellery fans can step to Melbourne for an exclusive look into Cartier’s craftsmanship and enduring legacy. The exhibition, titled after the house, features 400 pieces from jewels to timepieces and jewellery objects. Running until October 4, the exhibition also serves as a chronicle of Cartier’s beginnings and rise and influence.
Costume Art | The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City, United States of America
A no-brainer for the fashion-forward, after all, the Met Gala exists to put more eyes and funding to The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute. Their latest exhibition, Costume Art, focused on Western art and its relation to fashion and the body. Expect the curation to be a pairing of garments to artworks, sparking dialogue between the aesthetic and the political, the individual and the communal, and the illustration and the symbolic.
Fashion in Majesty: Haute Couture and Tradition at the Court of Thailand | Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris, France
Running till November 1, this exhibition takes a look at the late Queen Sirikit of Thailand and how she used Thai silk and traditional fashion as a form of diplomacy. Featuring royal outfits, traditional Thai styles that Queen Sirikit donned, as well as pieces defined by a longstanding collaboration between the royal and French fashion designer Pierre Balmain.
GLANZSTÜCKE: Van Cleef & Arpels High Jewelry × Masterpieces | MAK – Museum of Applied Arts, Vienna, Austria
A collaboration between MAK – Museum of Applied Arts and Van Cleef & Arpels, the GLANZSTÜCKE exhibition is a dialogue between Van Cleef & Arpels’ High Jewellery and the Museum’s collection of rare objects. Running till Septermber 27, this exhibition is a lengthy one, with over 500 objects curated around six different chapters: Wanderlust, Architecture, Rhythmic Designs, On Stage, Metamorphoses and Nature & Cosmos. Similar to the Costume Art exhibit, GLANZSTÜCKE will see jewels alongside medieval textiles and indigenous designs.
Iris van Herpen: Sculpting the Senses | Brooklyn Museum, New York City, United States of America
With runways themselves turning into a thought-provoking discussion between fashion, technology, and the natural world, an exhibition dedicated to Iris van Herpen’s work is easily one of the better ways to spend a summer in a new city. The exhibition looks at Iris van Herpen’s design ideology, how garments live with and transcend the spaces they occupy. With over 140 pieces, the creations are displayed alongside contemporary art, scientific artefacts, and natural history specimens to further spotlight the dialogue between Van Herpen’s designs and her creative process.
Schiaparelli: Fashion Becomes Art | Victoria and Albert Museum, London, United Kingdom
Hosting the UK’s first exhibition on the house, the exhibition traces the work of Elsa Schiaparelli from the 1920’s all the way to the maison’s revival under Daniel Roseberry. Running till November 8, the exhibition features over 200 objects ranging from clothing to jewellery to art, spotlighting the house’s evolution as well as the style codes established by Schiaparelli and Roseberry.
Vivienne Westwood: Rebel – Storyteller – Visionary | The Bowes Museum, Durham, England
Another exhibition worth stopping for if you find yourself in the UK. Showcasing one of the UK’s most provocative designers, the exhibition spans Westwood’s work from the 1980’s up to the 2000s. It’s a look into eras, movements, and how decades of rebellion have led the designer to become a visionary.
