A new exhibition at V&A Dundee is tracing more than a century of fashion shows, illustrating their evolution from exclusive salon presentations to global spectacles influencing widespread consumer choices. "Catwalk: The Art of the Fashion Show" opened recently, featuring over 100 historical and contemporary items that highlight the show's role in shaping modern culture and commerce.
The exhibition begins in the 1850s with the advent of "mannequins vivants," or living models, who showcased designs in private settings for society women in London and Paris. This practice gradually established the model and the catwalk as essential tools for presenting fashion. By the 20th century, these presentations moved beyond private salons into public venues such as gardens, ocean liners, and horse races, transforming them into powerful marketing instruments, according to Svetlana Panova, a co-curator of the exhibition.
A pivotal moment from 1971 is highlighted through a pair of green suede heels with ivy embellishments, created by Manolo Blahnik for designer Ossie Clark's London show. Blahnik, then new to shoemaking, inadvertently omitted steel pins from the heels, causing models to wobble. The press, however, interpreted this as a deliberate stylistic choice, with photographer Cecil Beaton even dubbing it "a new way of walking."
The mid-20th century, particularly with the rise of ready-to-wear in the 1950s and 1960s, further propelled the dynamic nature of catwalk shows. The display features examples like Paco Rabanne's "unwearable" metal mirror dress and Mary Quant's vinyl raincoat, which signify a shift from the constrained movements of haute couture to more energetic, music-driven presentations.
Modern fashion shows, as explored in the exhibition through looping video installations, represent an immersive spectacle. They combine theatrical staging, A-list attendees, and elaborate stunts to create global cultural events, immediately broadcast via livestreams and social media. This transformation gained momentum in the late 1980s with the emergence of luxury conglomerates. "Fashion shows become even more of a marketing tool for creating the fantasy around the brand," co-curator Panova noted, as fashion houses expanded their product portfolios beyond apparel.
Examples of this spectacle include footage of Karl Lagerfeld’s autumn/winter 2018 Chanel show, which featured a purpose-built rocket launch within the Grand Palais in Paris. Also displayed is a Chanel-branded megaphone from a spring/summer 2015 show, used in a feminist protest led by model Cara Delevingne. The exhibition also showcases unconventional invitations, such as Lacoste's autumn/winter 2024 invitation made from tennis net slices and a beaten-up wallet serving as an invitation to a Balenciaga show.
Leonie Bell, director of V&A Dundee, emphasized the broad impact of fashion shows: "The fashion show influences every single thing that we choose to wear and what we’re able to buy." While seemingly exclusive, the exhibition aims to present a more democratic view of fashion by exploring the collaborative chaos backstage, where makeup artists, photographers, and hairstylists work together. Bell added, "Nobody is working in isolation."
The exhibition connects the evolution of fashion to broader social and cultural shifts, from Mary Quant popularizing mini skirts in the 1960s to digitalization during the pandemic, when designers experimented with virtual realms. "Catwalk" ultimately asserts that whether one attends a show or not, runway events are integral cultural moments, both reflecting and shaping society.