Fashion and art have long been entwined. This year, a series of exhibitions across Europe foreground the designers that bridge the worlds of contemporary art and couture design. Each one pushes the boundaries of fashion, asking how it influences our understandings of identity, representation and body image. These five shows celebrate the work of Azzedine Alaïa, Irving Penn, Elsa Schiaparelli and Iris Van Herpen, going from initial design to magazine photography, allowing audiences to witness how fashion design permeates every facet of contemporary life. These are shows that are not to be missed.

Sculpting Fashion represents the first major US retrospective dedicated to famed couturier, Azzedine Alaïa. The designer revolutionised fashion in the 1980s and 1990s, producing garments that celebrated the natural curves of women’s bodies, whilst also challenging the conventions and unrelenting pace of the fashion industry. This show presents 80 garments from a cross his celebrated career, as well as pieces from his remarkable historical collections, from which he drew inspiration and technical understanding. Laura L. Camerlengo, co-curator of the display, says: “Alaïa profoundly transformed fashion by introducing body-conscious, sculptural designs that empowered women to reclaim their bodily autonomy and reframe sexiness as strength. This exhibition highlights his enduring legacy as a catalyst for feminist self-fashioning, and celebrates the profound cultural impact that his creations had on contemporary women, including iconic American cultural figures such as entertained Tina Turner and First Lady Michelle Obama.” 

Irving Penn (1917 – 2009) is one of the most influential photographers of the 20^th century. His decades-long partnership with Vogue left a profound mark on the history of fashion photography, bringing together art, fashion and commerce with unparalleled mastery. This exhibition unfolds chronologically, retracing Penn’s career from 1947 to 2008. It begins in the 1950s, with the presentation of his legendary photographs of Parisian haute couture collections such as those of Dior and Balengciaga, brought to life by the era’s greatest models, including Lisa Fonssagrives and Jean Patchett. Audiences then follow the photographer through the 1970s and 1980s, where Penn developed a particular proclivity for silhouette, volume and texture. The show moves right through to the final decades of his life, where his innovative portraits, still life, fashion and beauty photographs continued to appear regularly in Vogue, and today, two decades on from his death, continue to shape fashion photography. 

“In difficult times, fashion is always outrageous.” Elsa Schiaparelli (1890 – 1973) was one of the 20^th century’s most innovative designers. V&As exhibition places her at the nexus of innovation, “a key figure within a stellar sphere of fashion, art and performance, which spanned the cities of Paris, London and New York in the years between the two world wars and up to her retirement in 1954.” The show comprises over 200 objects, including garments, accessories, jewellery, paintings, photographs, sculpture, furniture, perfumes and archive material. In a particularly exciting moment, audiences are given access to Schiaparelli’s most radical designs, held in V&As collection. The exhibition featured the famous “Skeleton” and “tears” dresses, along with a hat shaped to look like an upside-down show, all conceived in collaboration with Salvador Dali. Here, visitors are given front-row seats to the history of a female entrepreneur whose couture house redefined standards of style and definitions of beauty for generations to come.   

Catwalk: The Art of the Fashion Show 

V&A Dundee | Until 17 January 

Fashion shows create worlds of fantasy, desire and excess. They are extravagant, experimental and powerful performances that reflect the times in which they are created. Catwalk, now on display at V&A Dundee, shines a light on the cultural significance of the fashion show, celebrating their magic, creativity and enduring inspiration. The show traces notable moments and iconic catwalk scenes, from Parisian salons in the 1900s, through the impact of youth and pop culture to today’s spectacles reaching global audiences. More than 350 objects are on display, fusing footage through the decades with rarely seem film and photography, illustrations and invitations, plus archival treasures. A raised catwalk sits at the heart of the exhibition, showing original runway looks from Martin Margiela, Victor & Rolf, John Galliano for Dior, Raf Simons for Dior, Karl Lagerfeld for Chanel, Pam Hogg and Alexander McQueen. Here, the spectacle, innovation and artistry behind fashion’s most legendary moments have their moment in the spotlight. 

Iris van Herpen: Sculpting the Senses

Brooklyn Museum, New York | Until 6 December 

Iris Van Herpen is a pioneer of new technologies, transcending conventional clothing norms while embracing traditional couture artisanship and innovative techniques. The exhibition ranges from the micro and the macro, exploring the body’s place in space, its relationship to clothing and its environment, and its future in a rapidly changing world. More than 140 extraordinary haute couture creations are shown alongside contemporary artwork and design – by artists including Philip Beesley, Rogan Brown, Casey Curran, Kim Keever and Nick Knight – as well as scientific artifacts and natural history specimens such as coral, fossils and skeletons. These accompanying pieces not only are placed in dialogue with Van Herpen’s designs, but also deeply inform and shape her creative process. Sculpting the Senses takes audiences on a journey from the ocean’s depths to the universe’s outer reaches. Step inside to explore the fluidity of water, the physics of motion, the perceptions of sound and light and nature’s profound interconnectedness. 

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Words: Emma Jacob

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Image Credits:

1. Iris van Herpen. Dress, from the collection, 2020. Laser-cut and screen-printed mesh, duchesse satin, and laser-cut Plexiglas. Collaborator: Philip Beesley. Model: Yue Han. (Photo: David Ụzọchukwu)
2. Azzedine Alaïa adjusting dress beads, Paris, 1989. Photograph by Peter Lindbergh. Courtesy of the Peter Lindbergh Foundation, Paris.
3. Azzedine Alaïa (1935–2017), evening dress (detail), Spring/Summer 1988 Haute Couture. Viscose, elastane, and polyamide jersey with crochet and metal pins. Courtesy of Fondation Azzedine Alaïa. Photography by Arnaud François.
4. Irving Penn, Bee on Lips, New York, 1995. The Irving Penn Foundation Collection, New York © Condé Nast.
5. Schiaparelli Haute Couture autumn/winter 2024. Photo © Giovanni Giannoni. Photo courtesy Patrimoine Schiaparelli, Paris.
6. Schiaparelli Haute Couture autumn/winter 2024. Photo © Giovanni Giannoni. Photo courtesy Patrimoine Schiaparelli, Paris.
7. Catwalk: Prada, Ready-to-Wear S/S 2021, Milan.
8. Iris van Herpen, Loie Dress, from the Sympoiesis collection, 2025. Silk satin and resin. Model: Akuol Deng Atem. (Photo: Gio Staiano). 
9. Iris van Herpen, from the Sympoiesis collection, 2025. Silk satin and resin. Model: Akuol Deng Atem. (Photo: Gio Staiano).