“Catwalk: The Art of the Fashion Show,” a journey of over a century through the history of the runway

The Vitra Design Museum in Weil am Rhein, Germany, will open its doors on October 18, 2025, to a must-see exhibition dedicated to the world of fashion: "Catwalk: The Art of the Fashion Show." Curated by Jochen Eisenbrand, Katharina Krawczyk (Vitra Design Museum), Kirsty Hassard, and Svetlana Panova (V&A Dundee), the exhibition traces a journey of more than a century through the history of fashion shows, from their origins in the early 20th century to the present day.

A narrative journey that retraces the evolution of fashion shows, which have taken on an increasingly complex and symbolic role in the global cultural and social landscape.

A journey spanning a century

The exhibition, through films, photographs, original couture creations, stage props, and historical documents, reconstructs a vivid picture of more than one hundred years of runway history, focusing on its role as a space of artistic expression and on its transformation over time from mass entertainment to true media spectacles, featuring spectacular stagings—such as Chanel’s rocket launch, Fendi’s Great Wall of China show, or the digital runways during the pandemic.

Through the exhibition, the fashion show emerges as a total work of art, developed thanks to close collaboration between different disciplines such as architecture, design, music, scenography, and performance. The exhibition also highlights how fashion shows reflect the evolution of body ideals and broader social changes, questioning the motivations that drive their creation. What myths, values, and dreams are being explored, what narratives are being told? Will the digital stage replace the physical experience or make it even more essential?

After its premiere at the Vitra Design Museum, the exhibition, on view until February 15, 2026, will travel to the V&A Dundee in Scotland and other international venues. Alongside the installation, an illustrated catalog will be available, conceived as an A-to-Z dictionary of the fashion show.

>>> Discover the exhibition hosted at the Vitra Design Museum dedicated to Iwan Baan

Cover image: Chanel, Fashion Show Spring-Summer 2015, Ready- to-Wear, Paris © Helmut Fricke

Paul Poiret’s mannequin parade in his garden in Paris, 1910, © Jean Sébastien Baschet L’Illustration, Photo: Henri Manuel