When Alexander McQueen’s tribute exhibition, Savage Beauty, arrived at The Metropolitan Museum in 2011, attendance records were shattered as the show drew 661,509 visitors. In the wake of Savage Beauty's success, museum curators the world over have consistently kept a fashion exhibit or two on their exhibition rosters. This summer alone, designers from the worlds of haute couture, ceramics, and shoe design will have their pieces of functional art on display. Here, we've rounded up six of the best exhibitions being staged this summer.
1. Cristóbal Balenciaga, The Lace Magician
the Cité de la Dentelle et de la Mode, Calais, France
Lace is so ubiquitous now it hardly feels special—but that’s in part because of Cristóbal Balenciaga, who made it the fabric staple with his constant reinvention of it. Even though the Balenciaga founder is known mostly for his ballon sleeves, Cristóbal Balenciaga, The Lace Magician, is an ode to his lesser talked about work with the delicate cloth. Coinciding with his 120th birthday, the exhibition includes over 70 of his lace works as well as information about the lace proponents who preceded him like Marescot, Dognin and Brivet. After it shows in Calais, France, it will fittingly travel to Balenciaga’s birth town Getaria, Spain.
Lead image: c/o FIT Fashion Cities.
