Paris Couture

The Minneapolis Institute of Art presents Paris Couture, a major international exhibition bringing more than eighty works of haute couture from the Palais Galliera, the Paris Fashion Museum, to the United States. The exhibition spans nearly a century and a half of fashion history, from the late nineteenth century to the present, with garments by designers including Christian Dior, Cristóbal Balenciaga, Elsa Schiaparelli, and Madame Grès.

The exhibition traces the story of couture from its beginnings with the House of Worth through the golden age of Paris fashion, the postwar era defined by Dior, Yves Saint Laurent, and Balenciaga, and the late-twentieth-century revival led by designers such as John Galliano and Alexander McQueen. Paris Couture builds on an earlier exhibition presented by the Palais Galliera in 2013, which had stopped its narrative in the 1970s, extending the story into the present day.

Conceived by the Palais Galliera in collaboration with Minneapolis Institue of Art and the Saint Louis Art Museum, the exhibition positions haute couture as one of the defining art forms of the modern era, inviting visitors to look closely at the pleats, beading, embroidery, and handwork behind each garment.

Paris Couture is on view in Minneapolis Institute of Art’s Target Galleries, with a full calendar of related programming, including public tours, panel discussions, an evening dedicated to fashion history with designer Karl Lagerfeld as its focus, and themed after-hours events throughout the run of the show.

November 5 – 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm – Panel Discussion and Mixer: Paris in Style – Register here.

December 3-10-17 – 5:00 pm to 9:00 pm – Mafic Ocean x Meet at Mia: “Paris Couture” – More information here.

November 19 – 6:30 pm to 7:30 pm – Looking Back, Designing Forward: Karl Lagerfeld and Fashion History – Register here.