Diamonds and Divas: The best fashion exhibitions to go see this summer

Though you might think otherwise given the neverending onslaught of catwalk shows, fashion isn’t all about the runway. Across the globe, museums, galleries and historical institutions are dedicated to bringing their audiences real-life fashion encounters which you can’t experience on a shop floor or feel through your phone screen.

Whether it’s charting the life of an extraordinary supermodel, exploring the history of hip-hop through jewellery, or a retrospective of one of the world’s most revered Japanese designers, curators around the world are putting together some of the best fashion exhibitions we’ve ever seen – and they’re all happening right now. So, if you’d like to be immersed in a real-life fashion universe, scroll down for our list of the world’s must-see fashion exhibitions.

Noami Campbell’s incomparable career has been defined by firsts. She’s been Britain’s first Black supermodel, the first Black model to appear on the cover of Time, and the first Black model to grace the cover of Vogue Paris. Though those achievements come with the fact that Campbell is a Black model – highlighting the industry’s poor track record when it comes to race – Naomi: In Fashion is the first major exhibition to explore the life and work of any model, period. It’s a testament to Campbell’s enduring ethic that she’s the one to be chosen.

On at the V&A in west London until next Spring, the exhibition features over 100 pieces worn by the supermodel, from industry leaders such as Alexander McQueen, Azzedine Alaïa, Burberry, Chanel, Versace, Jean Paul Gaultier, John Galliano, Karl Lagerfeld, Virgil Abloh, Vivienne Westwood and more. As well as this, the exhibit also features sections that celebrate Campbell’s iconic walk, her personal relationships with designers, and even goes back to where it all began, delving into her upbringing in 1970s Brixton.

Naomi: In Fashion is on at the V&A South Kensington until April 6, 2025. For more information, head here.

Rather than focus on clothing alone, the next exhibition on our list celebrates the medium that captures fashion in the world’s most acclaimed magazines. The Saatchi Gallery’s Beyond Fashion tells the story of how fashion photography went beyond its commercial beginnings and became an art in its own right. Split into four sections called Allure, Fantasy, Realism, and Surrealism, the exhibition features legendary photographers such as Peter Lindbergh, Glen Luchford, Paolo Roversi, Juergen Teller, Bruce Weber and Ellen Von Unwerth, plus the new school of image-makers like Yelena Yemchuk, Maisie Cousins, Jack Davison, Daniel Sannwald and Zoë Ghertner.

Beyond Fashion is on at the Saatchi Gallery until September 8, 2024. For more information, head here.

Swarovski’s acclaimed Masters of Light exhibition is now in its final weeks at Milan’s Palazzo Citterio, so you may need to snap up your tickets fast. Billed as an “an immersive experience, a retrospective exhibition, a celebration of the future,” the exhibit is split up into different “chambers” that delve into the brand’s 129 year history. There’s the Time Chamber, which charts the history of the label, the Mathemagical Chamber, which displays the brand’s most complex creations, and the Pop Icons Chamber, which showcases all the Swarovski-embedded outfits from stage and screen. Highlights include a gown designed by Gianni Versace for his AW95 collection, which was the first ever garment to use Swarovski Crystal Mesh.

Swarovski – Masters of Light is on at the Palazzo Citterio until July 14, 2024. For more information, head here.

If Swarovski crystals aren’t your thing, then take a trip across the pond to the New York’s American Museum of Natural History. Ice Cold: An Exhibition of Hip-Hop Jewelry celebrates custom-made jewellery for the genre’s biggest stars, and also explores the enduring cultural significance of these hand-crafted items. “These jewellery pieces are not just magnificent in and of themselves,” says Sean M. Decatur, president of the AMNH. “They’re an important part of hip-hop history and hip-hop culture as artists claimed and transformed traditional symbols of luxury and success.” Pieces in the exhibition include the Notorious B.I.G.’s iconic gold Jesus piece, Nicki Minaj’s Barbie pendant, Tyler, the Creator’s Igor chain, plus more from Slick Rick, Erykah Badu, A$AP Rocky, and Nas.

Ice Cold: An Exhibition of Hip-Hop Jewelry is on at the American Museum of Natural History until January 5, 2025. For more information, head here.

If you find yourself in Tokyo this summer, head over to the Tokyo Opera City Art Gallery in the Nishi-Shinjuku district. There you’ll find Takada Kenzo: Chasing Dreams, an exhibition dedicated to the work of the Kenzo founder and master Japanese designer. Charting his move to France and the establishing of his namesake label in 1970, the exhibit then moves on to a selection of Kenzo’s work throughout the 70s and 80s, including ‘A wedding dress made from ribbons collected over 20 years’. Elsewhere, the exhibition also features the Japanese Olympic team’s Athens 2004 uniforms designed by Kenzo, and the costumes from a 2019 opera production of Madame Butterfly.

Takada Kenzo: Chasing Dreams is on at  the Tokyo Opera City Art Gallery from July 6-September 16, 2024. For more information, head here.