Five fashion exhibitions to check out this spring, from New York to Paris to London

An exploration of the relationship between fashion and Catholicism, a tribute to one of the last true dressmakers, a celebration of high-end lace making – there’s all this and more coming up at the world’s top museums

2-MIN READ2-MIN

A dress with a religious theme by Dolce & Gabbana.

Published: 6:01pm, 3 Mar 2018Updated: 7:46pm, 4 Mar 2018

The next few months promises to be a good time for lovers of international fashion exhibitions, with noble establishments from the Metropolitan Museum of Art to the Victoria and Albert Museum paying tribute to icons including Azzedine Alaia, Martin Margiela, Iris van Herpen and Frida Kahlo, and houses from Thom Browne to Dior. We’ve picked out five for you to check out.

Versace evening dress with religious theme.

Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination

It is fashion’s most awaited yearly exhibition: the annual show by the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute, which opens every first Monday in May with the glamorous Met Gala, hosted by Vogue editor Anna Wintour. This year it will tackle a potentially fraught and controversial topic: religion.

Cardinal Fernando Nino de Guevara, who lived from 1541 to 1609, in stylish religious garb.

Vestment-style evening coat by Cristobal Balenciaga.

The show will explore the relationship between fashion and Catholicism and will include papal vestments from the Vatican and contemporary fashion from labels such as Dolce & Gabbana and Thom Browne.