Museums Embrace Fashion: From the Met to the Louvre, a Growing Alliance
Since the early 20th century, the connection between fashion and art institutions has grown considerably. By 2026, despite facing economic obstacles, fashion maintains a robust institutional representation through various public and private museum efforts. Notable institutions are the Palais Galliera and Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris, V&A in London, Momu in Antwerp, Museo della Moda in Florence, Museo del Traje in Madrid, and Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna. In the United States, the Fashion Institute of Technology Museum and LACMA are prominent, while Asia is represented by the Kyoto Costume Institute and the National Folk Museum of Korea. Additionally, the Metropolitan Museum of Art unveiled the Condé M. Nast Galleries in May 2026, following major exhibitions like the Met's Heavenly Bodies in 2018 and the upcoming Azzedine Alaïa show at the Legion of Honor in November 2026.
Key facts
- The Metropolitan Museum of Art opened the Condé M. Nast Galleries in May 2026, relocating fashion exhibitions from the basement to the main entrance.
- The 2018 Met exhibition Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination attracted over 1.6 million visitors, the most in the museum's history.
- Louvre Couture in 2025 became the second most visited exhibition in the Louvre's history.
- In March 2026, a Louvre charity event in the Daru Gallery raised €1.6 million, uniting leaders from LVMH, Kering, Chanel, and Richemont.
- The Brooklyn Museum has hosted Dior (2021), Thierry Mugler (2022), Virgil Abloh (2022), Solid Gold (2025), and currently Iris van Herpen: Sculpting the Senses.
- Upcoming exhibitions include Azzedine Alaïa: Sculpting Fashion at the Legion of Honor in San Francisco in November and Azzedine Alaïa. The Eye of the Collector at the Museum of Antwerpen in March 2027.
- Tate Britain will present The 90s: Art and Fashion in November 2026, and the V&A will host South Asia Now: Fashion. Art. Design in April 2027.
- The Musée des Arts Décoratifs will present Viktor&Rolf in January 2027, and the Museum at FIT will host Fashioning Desire: Willy Chavarria & Bárbara Sánchez-Kane in February 2027.
Entities
Artists
- Elsa Schiaparelli
- Jean Cocteau
- Salvador Dalí
- Man Ray
- Gabrielle Chanel
- Igor Stravinsky
- Vaslav Nijinsky
- Paul Poiret
- Constantin Brancusi
- Amedeo Modigliani
- Kees van Dongen
- Henri Matisse
- Pablo Picasso
- Iris van Herpen
- Sølve Sundsbø
- Daniel Roseberry
- Azzedine Alaïa
- John Galliano
- Sofia Coppola
- Christian Dior
- Yves Saint Laurent
- Halston
- Gianfranco Ferré
- Anna Sui
- Thierry Mugler
- Virgil Abloh
- Willy Chavarria
- Bárbara Sánchez-Kane
- Viktor Horsting
- Rolf Snoeren
- Aldo Premoli
- Fredrich Baker
- Patrick Demarchelier
Institutions
- Musée des Arts Décoratifs
- Palais Galliera
- V&A South Kensington
- Momu
- Museo della Moda e del Costume
- Museo del Traje
- Kunsthistorisches Museum
- Fashion Institute of Technology Museum
- Lacma
- Kyoto Costume Institute
- National Folk Museum of Korea
- China National Silk Museum
- National Gallery of Victoria
- Victoria & Albert Museum
- Museum of Fine Arts
- Asian Art Museum
- Museo Rietberg
- National Museum of Australia
- Metropolitan Museum of Art
- Condé M. Nast Galleries
- Louvre
- LVMH
- Kering
- Chanel
- Richemont
- Brooklyn Museum
- Grand Palais
- Legion of Honor
- Museum of Antwerpen
- Fondation Azzedine Alaïa
- Palazzo Madama
- Centrale Montemartini
- Petit Trianon
- Tate Britain
- Museum at FIT
- Philadelphia Museum
- Costume Institute
- Artribune
Locations
- Paris
- France
- London
- United Kingdom
- Antwerp
- Belgium
- Florence
- Italy
- Madrid
- Spain
- Vienna
- Austria
- New York
- United States
- Los Angeles
- Kyoto
- Japan
- Seoul
- South Korea
- Hangzhou
- China
- Melbourne
- Australia
- Boston
- San Francisco
- Zurich
- Switzerland
- Canberra
- Turin
- Rome
- Versailles
- Milan