If you pack up your bags for this summer in Normandy or New York, the break can be an opportunity to relax and culture with a visit to one of the hottest fashion exhibitions currently taking place all over Europe and America.
This world tour of museums celebrates designers who have made a lasting mark on fashion history from Christian Dior to Karl Lagerfeld, to Yves Saint Laurent, and the death in April of Mary Quant.
“Christian Dior: The Creator’s Imagination,” Granville, France
Christian Dior’s childhood home, Villa Les Rhumbs, is located in Granville, Normandy, France, and a current display honors the creative brilliance of the famous French couturier. This exhibition examines the designer’s work and imaginative spirit via many themed parts dispersed over the museum’s multiple levels. This exhibition offers a chance to learn about the history of the fashion house and (re)discover the life’s work of its illustrious founder. It covers his childhood, which inspired many of his collections, the fashion house’s entry onto the international fashion scene, and career highlights, such as the iconic New Look and fashion shows and boutique openings.
“Yves Saint Laurent: Transparencies,” Calais, France
A museum of lace fashion in Calais, France’s north coast, Cité de la Dentelle et de la Mode is only a four-hour drive from Paris. It devotes this year’s summer exhibition to Yves Saint Laurent, and in particular to the way in which the great French couturier reveals the woman’s body and plays with her sensuality through the use of transparency. Some 60 clothes, as well as accessories, designs, photographs and videos are on view at the exhibition organized in collaboration with Musée Yves Saint Laurent Paris. It spotlights some of the best symbolistic looks designed by an influential 20th century designer.
“Mary Quant: Fashion Revolutionary,” Glasgow, Scotland, UK
The show at Glasgow’s Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum runs until October 22, celebrating British fashion designer Mary Quant, who died in April. The career highlights of the designer who has been credited with creating miniskirts, at least in making them mainstream, are brought to life by this retrospective which is currently on tour around the world. This exhibition is made up of about 100 pieces, accessories, cosmetics, and photographs collected by the Victoria & Albert Museum, British designer’s archives as well as private collections. This is a chance to reflect back on her work, but also in the style of the 1960s, and it represents cultural and societal changes at that time.
“Andy Warhol: The Textiles,” London, UK
The Fashion and Textile Museum in London is examining the textile works of Andy Warhol, recognised as the “pope of pop” and a little-known aspect of the American artist’s output. Visitors will see no less than 45 textile designs that Andy Warhol developed in the 1950s and early 1960s, each more colourful than the last and recalling a variety of items, from ice cream to pretzels, sliced lemons, clowns, and candy apples. Visitors will be able to view these prints on textiles or clothing.
“Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty,” New York, USA
This significant retrospective of the late Karl Lagerfeld, who died away in February 2019, is only on display for a short time at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. With no less than 150 pieces, each accompanied with a designer drawing, the exhibition pays homage to the renowned couturier’s creative talent as well as to his personality. Visitors can view many aspects of the late fashion designer’s work, whether it is at Balmain, Patou, Chloe, Fendi, Chanel or his own label, from its working method and creative process to drawings and relationships with close associates.
