Impressionism, Fashion, and Modernity will present a revealing look at the role of fashion in the works of the Impressionists and their contemporaries. Some eighty major figure paintings, seen in concert with period costumes, accessories, fashion plates, photographs, and popular prints, will highlight the vital relationship between fashion and art during the pivotal years, from the mid-1860s to the mid-1880s, when Paris emerged as the style capital of the world. With the rise of the department store, the advent of ready-made wear, and the proliferation of fashion magazines, those at the forefront of the avant-garde—from Manet, Monet, and Renoir to Baudelaire, Mallarmé, and Zola—turned a fresh eye to contemporary dress, embracing la mode as the harbinger of la modernité. The novelty, vibrancy, and fleeting allure of the latest trends in fashion proved seductive for a generation of artists and writers who sought to give expression to the pulse of modern life in all its nuanced richness. Without rivaling the meticulous detail of society portraitists such as Tissot or Stevens or the graphic flair of fashion plates, the Impressionists nonetheless engaged similar strategies in the making (and in the marketing) of their pictures of stylish men and women that sought to reflect the spirit of their age. (more…)

The Paris Hôtel de Ville is celebrating haute couture with this exhibition. “Paris haute couture” gives visitors an opportunity to admire some exceptional examples of haute couture dresses or outfits, chosen from among the most beautiful pieces in the Galliera museum collections. From 2nd March to 6th July 2013. (more…)

The V&A has been given unprecedented access to the David Bowie Archive to curate the first international retrospective of the extraordinary career of David Bowie – one of the most pioneering and influential performers of modern times. David Bowie is will explore the creative processes of Bowie as a musical innovator and cultural icon, tracing his shifting style and sustained reinvention across five decades. (more…)

In a groundbreaking exhibition—drawn from our collection and loans from other national and international organizations and private individuals—the RISD Museum celebrates the dandy, tracing the variety of ways in which this personality has blazed through two centuries and investigating where he resides today. Rather than following strict definitions, Artist/Rebel/Dandy features myriad manifestations of the dandy’s style and persona, from the discreet sophistication and consummate elegance of Beau Brummell (1778–1840) to the romantics and revolutionaries of today—including Rick Owens, Patti Smith, Ouigi Theodore, and Waris Ahluwalia. (more…)

Made up of subtle plays of correspondences, N° 5 CULTURE CHANEL cracks the N° 5 code to reveal the links which connected it to specific moments in time and to the avant-garde movements it spanned. (more…)

The Met’s spring 2013 Costume Institute exhibition, PUNK: Chaos to Couture, will examine punk’s impact on high fashion from the movement’s birth in the early 1970s through its continuing influence today. Featuring approximately one hundred designs for men and women, the exhibition will include original punk garments and recent, directional fashion to illustrate how haute couture and ready-to-wear borrow punk’s visual symbols. (more…)

The tremendous innovation of Japanese fashion designers who have revolutionized the way we think of fashion today will be shown for the first time in Seattle at SAM. The leading Japanese designers who initially gained recognition in the West were Kenzo Takada and Issey Miyake in the 1970s, but it is in the 1980s that Japanese designers emerged with an entirely new aesthetic. In the summer of 1983, Rei Kawakubo and Yohji Yamamoto launched a stark new aesthetic at the Paris runway shows. Based on monochrome black and white, they presented asymmetric and at times artfully perforated designs, which loosely skimmed the female silhouette. Recognized as a radical counterproposal to Western notions of the fitted gown, their designs gained instant notoriety. (more…)

The Annenberg Space for Photography today announced its next installation, Helmut Newton: White Women • Sleepless Nights • Big Nudes, featuring the work of the revolutionary fashion photographer. Opening on Saturday, June 29, 2013, this is the first exhibition of Helmut Newton’s work outside of gallery shows in Los Angeles, his long-time winter residence. (more…)