Vitra Design Museum

They last barely fifteen minutes, yet their images circle the globe: fashion shows are media spectacles, social rituals, and cultural statements all at once. With »Catwalk: The Art of the Fashion Show«, opening on 18 October, the Vitra Design Museum presents a major exhibition dedicated to the phenomenon of the fashion show. Tracing its evolution from its beginnings around 1900 to the present day, the exhibition explores the history and cultural significance of the runway and brings together landmark examples from fashion houses such as Balenciaga, Chanel, Dior, Gucci, Helmut Lang, Martin Margiela, Prada, Viktor & Rolf, Louis Vuitton, Yohji Yamamoto, and others. 

The presentation of new collections began in the salons of fashion ateliers in the early 20th century, often in private settings, but also aboard ocean liners or at social events such as horse races. These early showings evolved into a clearly structured ritual, with fixed fashion week schedules, inter-seasonal Cruise Collections, and a global fashion calendar. From the 1960s onward, fashion shows increasingly became a stage for subculture and social transformation. Paco Rabanne envisioned a futuristic aesthetic, Mary Quant celebrated youthful freedom, and Vivienne Westwood brought punk to the catwalk. 

In the so-called supermodel era of the 1990s, fashion shows became global spectacles, while designers like Martin Margiela subverted the system by challenging established aesthetics. Since then, art and commerce in fashion have continued to reinforce each other in increasingly diverse ways. Today, every fashion show generates a flood of images across social media, whether through strong statements, as seen at Balenciaga, innovative spatial concepts by OMA for Prada, or visually powerful stagings such as Jacquemus’ runway in a lavender field. 

»Catwalk: The Art of the Fashion Show« traces these developments through landmark moments in fashion history up to the present day, from the theatrical spectacles of Alexander McQueen and Hussein Chalayan to dramatic settings such as a staged rocket launch at Chanel or the Great Wall of China at Fendi, all the way to digital shows during the pandemic. Featuring film and photographic material, original collection pieces, stage props and a wealth of archival documents, the exhibition immerses visitors in over 100 years of catwalk history. It gives voice to those involved in the fashion show system, including designers, models, buyers, and journalists, while also looking behind the scenes and on the making of the glamorous stagings. 

Through the exhibition, the fashion show emerges as a multi-layered Gesamtkunstwerk which is often developed in a close collaboration of disciplines like architecture, design, music, set design, and performance, coordinated and produced under the direction of specialized agencies. The exhibition reveals how fashion shows reflect evolving body ideals and broader societal shifts, asking for the underlying motivations behind their creation. What myths, values, and dreams are being explored, what narratives are being told? Will the digital stage replace the physical experience, or render it all the more essential? 

Following its premiere at the Vitra Design Museum, the exhibition will travel to the V&A Dundee in Scotland and other international institutions. A richly illustrated catalogue will accompany the show, conceived as an A–Z of the fashion show. Contributors include key figures of the fashion world such as model Małgosia Bela, music supervisor Michel Gaubert, and buyer Andreas Murkudis, alongside leading experts like Caroline Evans, Cathy Horyn, Olivier Saillard, Carla Sozzani, and Valerie Steele. 

An exhibition by the Vitra Design Museum and the V&A Dundee. 

Image: Chanel, Fashion Show, Spring-Summer 2015 Ready-to-Wear, Paris © Helmut Fricke