Fashion exhibitions in 2025 felt like “tonics” to a “turbulent” year, said Wallpaper*. The change across the industry was “exciting to witness”, and 2026 promises even more “unmissable” shows offering a fascinating intersection between fashion, history and art. Here are some of the must-visit exhibitions around the UK.
Vivienne Westwood: Rebel – Storyteller – Visionary
The Bowes Museum, Durham
An hour’s drive south of Newcastle, County Durham’s Bowes Museum has an “impressive history” of Vivienne Westwood exhibitions, and this year’s iteration is expected to be the “most extensive” yet, said Belle Hutton in Wallpaper*. The show concentrates on the 20-year period between 1980 and 2000, as Westwood rose to be “one of Britain’s greatest creative forces”. Pieces from “rarely exhibited private collections” and objects from the museum’s own archives will be on display, exploring Westwood’s rebellious roots.
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thebowesmuseum.org.uk, 28 March – 6 September
Queen Elizabeth II: Her Life in Style
The King’s Gallery, Buckingham Palace, London
Elizabeth II was “internationally regarded as a fashionista as she globetrotted her way through royal duties”, said Connor Sturges in Condé Nast Traveller. In the “largest display” of the late Queen’s clothes ever mounted, the exhibition will feature around 200 items, “half of which will be on display for the first time”. Prepare to be stunned by the “diverse range of styles” spanning everything from a bridesmaid dress to colourful evening gowns. Visitors will also have “behind-the-scenes” access to fashion illustrations, with some featuring annotations by designers, and even by the late Queen herself, in a peek behind the curtain at the “decision-making and craftsmanship behind each outfit”.
rct.uk, 10 April – 18 October
Catwalk: The Art of the Fashion Show
V&A Dundee
Tweed is “just one of countless examples of Scotland’s impact on the world of fashion”, and “will be explored in depth” at this exhibition, which has its debut at the V&A Dundee, said Kerry McDermott in British Vogue. Viewers are taken on an “immersive journey through a century of runway history”, spanning the 1938 Empire Exhibition in Glasgow to 2024, when the house of Dior “memorably swapped Paris for Perthshire to stage a punk-inflected Cruise show in the grounds of Drummond Castle”.
The show champions the “homegrown design talent Scotland has always had in spades”, including works by Christopher Kane, Charles Jeffrey and Nicholas Daley, while celebrating “the crucial role of its fashion colleges in nurturing a thriving creative scene”.
vam.ac.uk, 3 April – 17 January 2027
Schiaparelli: Fashion Becomes Art
V&A South Kensington
“Outrageous design comes in spades” at the V&A’s Schiaparelli exhibition, said Charlie Colville in Country & Town House. Opening in March, this is the first UK show “devoted to the luxury label”. One of the 20th century’s greatest creatives, Elsa Schiaparelli took pleasure in pushing boundaries with her surrealist designs, which often incorporate humour and surprise. It’s not to be missed.
vam.ac.uk, 28 March – 1 November
