The Shakers: A World in the Making
The Shakers: A World in the Making
07.06.2025 – 28.09.2025
Vitra Design Museum
How did an 18th-century American free church inspire generations of artists, architects and designers around the world? The Shakers were a religious group for whom design and architecture were an expression of beliefs surrounding community, labour and social equality. The new exhibition »The Shakers: A World in the Making« examines how this resulted in meticulously crafted furniture and vernacular architecture that continue to resonate centuries later. Bringing together a wide range of Shaker furniture, architectural elements, tools and commercial goods, paired with newly commissioned works by contemporary artists and designers, »The Shakers: A World in the Making« reveals the complex social, material and spiritual context that created the »Shaker style«, and what possibilities its values offer today.
An exhibition organised by the Vitra Design Museum, the Milwaukee Art Museum, the Institute of Contemporary Art Philadelphia, and the Wüstenrot Foundation in collaboration with Shaker Museum.
Image: Key Visual »The Shakers: A World in the Making« © Vitra Design Museum, graphic design: Matt Kay, A Practice For Everyday Life based on photos by Alex Lesage
Catwalk: The Art of the Fashion Show
Catwalk: The Art of the Fashion Show
18.10.2025 – 15.02.2026
Vitra Design Museum
Fashion shows are the magical moments in fashion industry – they are marketing machines and social events, deeply poetic and highly commercialized at the same time. Their images spread across the globe in real time, shaping our cultural memory. Following ever-changing concepts and narratives, they unite stage design, performance, clothing, light, and sound into a temporary Gesamtkunstwerk, a total work of art. The exhibition »Catwalk: The Art of the Fashion Show« explores the fascinating evolution of the fashion show and offers a look behind the scenes: from its beginnings in couturiers’ salons around 1900 to the spectacular events of the twenty-first century; from haute couture to prêt-à-porter; from the era of supermodels to the celebration of diversity; from classic catwalk photography to the virtual fashion show. Through film and photo footage, original runway pieces, invitations, and stage props, the exhibition brings groundbreaking fashion shows back to life – including shows by Alexander McQueen, Balenciaga, Chanel, Comme des Garçons, Dior, Gucci, Helmut Lang, Hussein Chalayan, Martin Margiela, Prada, Yves Saint Laurent, and many more.
Image: Chanel, Fashion Show, Spring-Summer 2015 Ready-to-Wear, Paris © Helmut Fricke
