London’s leading galleries are celebrating the capital’s creative landscape this season, with a host of captivating new fashion exhibitions. Top of the list is the new Gabrielle Chanel exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum, which is guaranteed to be the hottest ticket in town this autumn, but there are also stellar offerings covering everything from the shifting landscape of Black British culture to London’s rebellious take on fashion. Here, we’ve rounded up the London fashion exhibitions that are not to be missed this season.
The Glossary Edit
Fashion Exhibitions in London
Fashion City
Museum of London Docklands
13 October – 14 April 2024
From East End tailors and factories to the couture boutiques of the West End, this fascinating fashion exhibition charts the contribution Jewish designers and retailers made in shaping London as a global fashion city.
Spanning from the late-19th century through the Swinging Sixties to the modern day – and shining a spotlight on the likes of David Sassoon, one of Princess Diana’s favourite designers, and the charismatic Mr Fish, whose flamboyant menswear was worn by David Bowie and Jimi Hendrix – the displays of garments and textiles, ephemera and archival photography in Fashion City reveal the stories of the creators of some of the eras’ most recognisable looks.
Rebel: 30 Years of London Fashion
Design Museum
16 September – 11 February 2024
London has always been revered for its avant-garde take on fashion, and this new show – held in collaboration with the British Fashion Council – spotlights the rebellious, radical work of over 300 young designers, aka the NEWGEN alumni.
Expect to find multiple ground-breaking creations on display in Rebel: 30 Years of London Fashion, from Marjan Pejoski’s infamous swan dress worn by Björk at the 2001 Oscars to Christopher Kane’s revolutionary neon debut collection and the experimental sheer womenswear of Nensi Dojaka, a favourite with stylish London tastemakers like Emma Corrin and Iris Law.
Gabrielle Chanel. Fashion Manifesto
Victoria and Albert Museum
16 September – 25 February 2024
Of all the London fashion exhibitions, this is the one that’s grabbing the most headlines – and with good reason, as it’s the first ever UK exhibition dedicated solely to the work and legacy of the pioneering French couturière. Further cementing the Victoria and Albert Museum as the capital’s go-to spot for fashion history buffs, Gabrielle Chanel. Fashion Manifesto will delve into ‘Coco’ Chanel’s archives, with over 180 looks seen together in London for the first time.
This fashion exhibition will showcase the evolution of her legendary style and the establishment of the House of Chanel, from the opening of her first millinery boutique in Paris in 1910 to her final collection in 1971.
The Missing Thread
Somerset House
21 September – 7 January 2024
This seminal new fashion exhibition at Somerset House offers an exploration into the shifting landscape of Black British culture and the contribution it has made to Britain’s rich fashion design history, from the 1970s to the present day.
A generation of Black creativity is celebrated in The Missing Thread through works by renowned and unsung names across art, design and, of course, fashion. On display are original commissions by contemporary Black designers including Bianca Saunders and Nicholas Daley, while the show concludes by spotlighting the late Joe Casely-Hayford OBE, presenting the first ever major staging of pieces from the designer’s archive.
Gucci Cosmos
180 Studios
11 October – 31 December
Following on from a successful debut in Shanghai in April, the Gucci Cosmos exhibition will be taking over London in October, with an immersive installation showcasing the house’s most iconic designs from its 102-year history. Renowned British artist Es Devlin – who designed the original exhibition – has created a dedicated set-up for the space at 180 Studios, including additional elements that pay homage to London and the role the city played in inspiring Guccio Gucci to establish his label in 1921.
Visitors can expect never-before-seen items from the Gucci Archive, showing how the Italian fashion house has evolved over the last century, as well as looks from previous creative directors such as Tom Ford and Frida Giannini.
