As Chanel's exhibition is set to open, take a look at the must see fashion exhibitions over the next 12 months

September is officially Fashion Month with New York, London, Milan and Paris set to showcase the biggest and best fashion brands during fashion week. But that’s not all there are also many fashion exhibitions that you can go and see now or opening in the next few weeks and not just in London. 

Edinburgh 

Beyond the Little Black Dress

• National Museum of Scotland, Chambers St, Edinburgh EH1 1JF
• Open now until October 29 2023
• Tickets - £12 

The little black dress became a wardrobe staple and a blank canvas for future generations to reflect broader political and cultural shifts, challenge social norms around race, gender and sexuality and reflect evolving ideals of beauty and identity.

Discover how the nuances of the colour black have made the little black dress a contradictory garment, from the well-mannered cocktail attire of the early 20th century to the leather and latex worn by members of punk and fetish subcultures.

Manchester 

Unpicking Couture

• Manchester Art Gallery, Mosley St, Manchester M2 3JL
• Open now until January 12, 2025
• Free admission

Created by influential designers and fashion houses, each outfit represents a groundbreaking moment in fashion and includes works by Christian Dior, Elsa Schiaparelli, Azzedine Alaïa, Cristobal Balenciaga, Pierre Cardin, Vivienne Westwood, Yohji Yamamoto, Bruce Oldfield and Alexander McQueen.

The two main themes of the show are: investigating the links between fashion and emotions, in the form of dopamine dressing which encourages dressing for joy, and focusing on repair and restoration, inviting us to consider the lifecycle of a garment and the way it is valued and cared for.

London 

Gabrielle Chanel, Fashion Manifesto

• Victoria & Albert, Cromwell Rd, London SW7 2RL
• 16 September - 25 February 2024
• Tickets £24.00

The first UK exhibition dedicated to the work of French couturière, Gabrielle 'Coco' Chanel, charting the establishment of the House of CHANEL and the evolution of her iconic design style which continues to influence the way women dress today.

Rebel: 30 Years of London Fashion

• Design Museum, 224-238 Kensington High St, London W8 6AG
• September - 11 February 2024
• Tickets from £18 Adult and £9 child (members go free)

The exhibition is a landmark collaboration with the British Fashion Council (BFC) and will celebrate the 30th anniversary of the BFC’s NEWGEN programme, an initiative that supports the best emerging fashion design talent and aims to build global, high-end brands of the future.

Highlights include the swan dress controversially worn by Björk at the 2001 Oscars, Harry Styles’ Steven Stokey Daley outfit from his video for ‘Golden,’ a unique replica of Sam Smith's inflatable latex suit by HARRI from this year’s BRIT Awards.

The Missing Thread: Untold stories of black British fashion

• Somerset House, Strand, London WC2R 1LA
• 21 September - 7 January 2024
• Tickets from £5-£12 

The exhibition will examine how the cultural, counter-cultural, political and socio-economic backdrop of the 20th and 21st centuries have shaped the identity of Black style and in turn mainstream fashion culture. Extending far beyond the realm of the catwalk, the exhibition spotlights and contextualises the profound impact of Black creativity through music, photography, art and design.

The exhibition will tell the story of Black creativity through four distinct themes - home, tailoring, performance and nightlife - each referencing the spaces that inspired and allowed the culture of Black British fashion and design to develop on its own terms.

Rather than approaching fashion as an art form created in isolation, the Black contribution to British fashion culture will be set within a broader socio-political context, placing garments alongside artworks, cultural artefacts, music, memorabilia, videos and installations.