Women in print: 150 years of Liberty textiles
In celebration of Liberty’s 150th and the gallery’s 75th anniversary (in 2025) this exhibition highlights the role of women as textile designers at Liberty, from May Morris and the arts and crafts movement up until the present day. Through showcasing garments, fabrics and photographs the exhibition hopes to inspire a new generation of designers with local initiatives with schools. The museum itself has just undergone refurbishment and being only in Walthamstow, is a weekend trip worth the tube journey.
Address: The William Morris Gallery, Lloyd Park, Forest Rd, London E17 4PP
Website: wmgallery.org.uk
Price: Free
Dates: Present – 12 June 2026
The Antwerp Six
The first major exhibition dedicated to the six fashion designers responsible for putting Antwerp on the fashion map. Dirk Bikkembergs, Ann Demeulemeester, Walter Van Beirendonck, Dries Van Noten, Dirk Van Saene and Marina Yee, who all studied together at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp, presented their collections in 1986 at the British Designer Show, and the rest, they say, is history. In 2014 I was mesmerized by Dries Van Noten’s work at his stand alone exhibition ‘Inspirations’ at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris, so I’m more than excited to see his work alongside his contemporaries and learn more about their influence on the wider fashion community we know today.
Address: MoMu Amsterdam, Hobbemastraat 1, 1071 ZD Amsterdam
Website: momu.be
Price: General admission €8; concessions available
Dates: 28 March 2026 – 17 January 2027
Costume Art
The Costume Institute’s show, heralded every year with the celebrity filled Met Gala red carpet, will be the first one exhibited in the new fashion space in the centre of the Metropolitan Museum. To celebrate the exhibition will explore the connection between the art, from the museum’s vast collection, and fashion to reveal the relationship between clothes and the body. With a wide reaching subject matter, the items on display will cover paintings, sculpture, 18th century dresses and modern catwalk looks. A particular highlight should be Renata Buzzo’s “Corset Anatomia”, a dress that better resembles the anatomy of a body than a party outfit. Earlier in the year in NYC and exploring similar themes is the Art X Fashion exhibition at the Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology, so there’s no risk of a trip to the big apple without a fashion art fix.
Address: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1000 5th Ave, New York, NY 10028
Website: metmuseum.org
Price: Free with museum admission
Dates: 10 May 2026 – 10 January 2027
Many Shades of Grès
Berlin’s museum of decorative arts and School of Culture and Design are putting on this joint exhibition to bring the Parisian couturier Madame Gres’s work to a German audience for the first time. Famous in the 1930s for her pleated gowns inspired by ancient statues (Gres was a formally trained sculptor), she was shut down by the German occupation in Paris for refusing to dress the Nazi’s wives in utilitarian clothes and fled to the Pyrenees. Upon returning after the war she built her business back, eventually becoming President of Chambre Syndicale of Paris Couture in 1972 and winning their highest award the Dé d’Or (Golden Thimble) in 1976. This exhibition will display Gres’s gowns from the latter part of her career and offer an alternative museum trip to the usual historical sights of Berlin, although the museum does house a terrific collection of old master paintings.
Address: Kulturforum, Matthäikirchplatz, 10785 Berlin
Website: smb.museum
Dates: 15 May 2026 – 11 October 2026
The Gentleman – Men’s Style and Jewellery
In the heart of Milan’s fashion district and behind the Four Season’s hotel is the Palazzo Morando – a historical museum which houses the city’s costume and fashion collection. The museum covers the early 17th century up to the millennium and this exhibition is no different. It looks at the often overlooked and constantly changing cultural and symbolic importance of men’s jewellery within costume history. With men’s fashion week returning to Milan in June, it’s a perfect time to swat up on their street style through the ages. See more information.
Address: Palazzo Morando, Costume Moda Immagine, Via Sant’Andrea, 6, 20121 Milano
Website: abbonamentomusei.it
Price: Free
Dates: 16 January 2026 – 27 September 2026