4 fashion exhibitions not to be missed this spring

Paris hosts four major fashion exhibitions. Between iconic archives and contemporary visions, spring promises to be intense.

Alaïa / Grès: the heritage of sculpture

At the Palais Galliera, the Alaïa / Grès exhibition celebrates two couturiers linked by the same obsession: sculptural form.
Azzedine Alaïa deeply admired Madame Grès. He collected her dresses, analyzed them and preserved them.
The exhibition brings their creations together like works of art. Draped, voluminous, pleated: couture becomes sculpture.
This silent face-to-face encounter tells a different story of fashion, one that is slower, more structured, almost meditative.

YSL Transparences: sensuality and provocation

The Fondation Pierre Bergé – Yves Saint Laurent explores a specific facet of the designer’s work: transparency.
Through nude dresses, flowing tulles and floating organzas, the exhibition highlights an aesthetic that is both sensual and political.
Yves Saint Laurent plays with the gaze, the forbidden, the suggested skin. Each piece becomes a subtle manifesto.
The exhibition is short but intense. It reveals an often underestimated aspect of Saint Laurent’s modernity.

Fashion on the move at CNCS

Head for Moulins for an escape from Paris. The Centre National du Costume de Scène is devoting an exhibition to fashion in movement.
From Pina Bausch to Dior, the body becomes the actor in clothing. Dance costumes, performance pieces, flying dresses.
The relationship with the body is central. We no longer look, we feel.
The exhibition emphasizes the importance of gesture, movement and breath. Fashion is no longer static: it lives, it vibrates.

1997, Fashion Big Bang at MAD

At the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, 1997, Fashion Big Bang looks back on a pivotal year. McQueen’s at Givenchy, Galliano’s at Dior.
The exhibition reconstructs the creative tumult of this era. Archives, fashion shows, photographs, sketches: it’s all there.
We discover an explosion of styles, a liberation of the body, a rise in brand power.
This is a dense, rhythmic, sometimes brutal exhibition. But it reminds us why 1997 changed everything.

A spring of creative intensity

This spring, fashion is on full display. Between homage, reflection and immersion, each exhibition offers a different interpretation of clothing.
From Paris to Moulins, couture is seen in a different light. Less like an object, more like a language.
A word of advice: book early. Some exhibitions close as early as July 2025. And all are well worth a visit.