Catwalk origins explored in new V&A Dundee exhibition

V&A Dundee's Catwalk: The Art of the Fashion Show, made with Vitra Design Museum, traces runway history from Charles Frederick Worth to contemporary spectacles and features film, miniature dolls and historic garments.

V&A Dundee is presenting Catwalk: The Art of the Fashion Show, produced in collaboration with Vitra Design Museum, which examines the origins and evolution of runway presentation. The exhibition links 19th-century practices, such as the House of Worth staging early catwalk shows, to later experiments with live models, choreography and staging. Coverage quotes curator Kirsty Hassard and contributors including art curator and filmmaker Eunice Olumide on why the moving human body remains central to showing clothes. The display brings together film footage, historic garments, miniature dolls and recent work by contemporary designers. Notable details: - The exhibition is titled Catwalk: The Art of the Fashion Show and is presented at V&A Dundee in collaboration with Vitra Design Museum. - Charles Frederick Worth and his House of Worth are identified as the first fashion house to stage a catwalk show; Paul Poiret and Gabrielle Chanel were early adopters of live models. - The article recalls memorable modern spectacles, including Karl Lagerfeld's 2017 Chanel rocket, Chanel's supermarket set with staged shoplifting, Dior's castle runway and Stella McCartney's show with horses. - Footage in the show includes Alexander McQueen's No.13 finale with Shalom Harlow and the Pathe clips of 1920s modelling noted by Eunice Olumide. - Theatre de la Mode dolls (about 70 cm tall) and other miniature displays are included; the article notes the concept was used in 1945 and revived during the pandemic. Summary: The exhibition highlights how staging, choreography, music and craft have shaped fashion presentations from Worth to contemporary designers, and it foregrounds the many roles — from lighting and set design to seamstresses — that support shows. Undetermined at this time.