Catwalk
The Art of the Fashion Show
They last barely fifteen minutes, yet their images are seen around the world: fashion shows are media spectacles, social rituals, and style-defining statements. With the exhibition »Catwalk: The Art of the Fashion Show«, the Vitra Design Museum is dedicating a major show to the phenomenon of fashion shows. The exhibition explores the history and cultural significance of the fashion show from its early forms around 1900 to the present day and brings together fashion houses such as Azzedine Alaïa, Balenciaga, Chanel, Dior, Gucci, Maison Martin Margiela, Prada, Viktor & Rolf, Louis Vuitton, Yohji Yamamoto, and many others. Original collection pieces, film and photographic material, stage objects, and show invitations animate over 100 years of fashion history on the catwalk.
This exhibition sheds light – in chronological sequence and with thematic focal points – on the history and cultural significance of the fashion show from its beginnings around 1900 to the present day. It reveals how the spaces and venues where fashion is presented have evolved, and how the staging of fashion shows and the narratives they convey have gained importance. The exhibition illustrates how the performances of models and the body images they project have changed over time. And it examines the influence of media and how they affect both the perception and the design of fashion shows. In doing so, the history of the fashion show reflects not only developments within the fashion industry itself, but also societal change over more than 100 years.
The exhibition design by Ania Martchenko creates four distinct spaces with design elements reflecting the respective fashion show periods, from the decorated walls of a salon to a space frame structure to the elevated runway.
An exhibition by the Vitra Design Museum and V&A Dundee
Partner: Louis Vuitton
Space
600 – 1,000 m² / 6,000 – 10,000 sq ft
Curatorial Team
Jochen Eisenbrand, Katharina Krawczyk (Vitra Design Museum)
Kirsty Hassard, Svetlana Panova (V&A Dundee)
Exhibition Design
Ania Martchenko
Graphic Design
Haller Brun
Detailed information
Illustrated Concept
Exhibition Film
Exhibition Tour
18.10.2025 – 15.02.2026, Vitra Design Museum, Weil am Rhein, Germany
03.04.2026 – 17.01.2027, V&A Dundee, Scotland
For further information please contact Cora.Harris@design-museum.de.
