Fashion exhibitions to see in London in 2025
London will host a series of exciting fashion exhibitions in 2025. Highlights include a celebration of 100 years of swimwear, an exploration of The Face magazine’s influence on fashion and pop culture, and a look at Cartier’s legendary craftsmanship and iconic jewels. There will also be a focus on Marie Antoinette’s lasting impact on fashion, along with a retrospective of Dennis Morris’ career capturing music legends and cultural icons. Here is our guide to the fashion exhibitions not to miss in London in 2025.
Naomi: In Fashion
NAOMI is at the V&A, 22 June 2024 – 6 April 2025. Photographer Marco Bahler.
#FLODown: NAOMI: In Fashion at the V&A celebrates Naomi Campbell’s extraordinary 40-year career, featuring over 100 iconic outfits, including her look from Sarah Burton’s final Alexander McQueen show, the pink Valentino ensemble from the 2019 Met Gala, and the infamous Vivienne Westwood platform shoes worn during her famous 1993 catwalk fall. Discover pieces from designers such as Versace, Anna Sui, Azzedine Alaïa, Burberry, Chanel, Jean Paul Gaultier, and Yves Saint Laurent. Gain insights into Campbell's early career, her impactful activism, and her support for emerging creatives, all alongside striking fashion photography. Click here for a visual preview.
Date: 22 June 2024 - 6 April 2025. Location: V&A South, Kensington, Cromwell Road, London, SW7 2RL. Price: £18. Concessions available. Book now.
Deborah Turbeville: Photocollage
Deborah Turbeville, Versailles, from the series “Unseen Ver- sailles,” Versailles, France 1980. © Deborah Turbeville/MUUS Collection.
#FLODown: This exhibition highlights Deborah Turbeville’s dreamlike and melancholic style, showcasing her innovative approach to fashion photography from the 1970s onwards. Rejecting the glamorous aesthetic of the time, Turbeville’s work features enigmatic female figures and decaying landscapes, transforming fashion imagery into avant-garde art. The exhibition presents her experimental techniques, where she manipulated photographs through cutting, tearing, and collage. It offers a fresh perspective on her pioneering contribution to photography.
Date: 9 October 2024 – 23 February 2025. Location: The Photographers' Gallery, 16–18 Ramillies St, London W1F 7LW. Price: £10 (£7 concession). Advance: £8.50 (£6 concession). Members go free. Book now.
Outlaws: Fashion Renegades of 80s London
The Lore of LOVERBOY at Somerset House. Photo by MTotoe.
#FLODown: Outlaws: Fashion Renegades of 80s London highlights the impact of the iconic nightclub Taboo, founded by Leigh Bowery in 1985. Embracing a bold dress code, Taboo and its circle—featuring designers like BodyMap and Rachel Auburn, dancer Michael Clark, and pop star Boy George—ignited a scene that blended hedonism with creative innovation. The exhibition showcases original garments and accessories from Leigh Bowery and over thirty designers, including rare pieces from John Galliano and others, alongside photography, film, and artworks. It explores how the rebellious spirit of the club influenced experimental creativity in fashion and art.
Date: 4 October 2024 – 9 March 2025. Location: Fashion and Textile Museum, 83 Bermondsey Street, London SE1 3XF. Price: from £12.65. Book now.
The Face Magazine: Culture Shift
Kate Moss by Glen Luchford, March 1993 © Glen Luchford. Styling Venetia Scott.
#FLODown: The National Portrait Gallery will honour The Face magazine’s pivotal influence on youth culture from the 1980s to 2004. With over 200 iconic photographs by renowned photographers like Sheila Rock and David Sims, this exhibition offers a captivating visual journey through fashion, music, and style.
Date: 13 February 2025 – 1 June 2025. Location:National Portrait Gallery, St Martin’s Place, London WC2H 0HE. Price: £23 / 25.50 with donation. Free for members. npg.org.uk.
Click here for more information on exhibitions at the National Portrait Gallery in 2025.
Dennis Morris: Music + Life
Dennis Morris, Babylon by van, London, 1973 © Dennis Morris.
#FLOLondon: The Photographers’ Gallery will present a retrospective celebrating the 50-year career of Dennis Morris, the acclaimed photographer, designer, and art director renowned for his iconic images of musicians like Bob Marley, the Sex Pistols, and Patti Smith. The exhibition will feature rare, previously unseen photographs from his archives, alongside his early documentary work that explores race and cultural identity in 1970s Britain. A collaboration between Maison Européenne de la Photographie (MEP) and The Photographers’ Gallery, the exhibition coincides with the release of Dennis Morris: Music + Life by Thames & Hudson in February 2025.
Date: 27 June - 21 September 2025. Location:The Photographers' Gallery, 16-18 Ramillies St, London W1F 7LW. Price: TBC. thephotographersgallery.uk
Cecil Beaton’s Fashionable World
The Second Age of Beauty by Cecil Beaton, British Vogue February 1946 © The Condé Nast Publications Ltd. Condé Nast Archive London.
#FLODown: This glamorous exhibition will highlight Cecil Beaton’s illustrious career as a fashion illustrator, photographer, and costume designer. Revered as “The King of Vogue,” Beaton immortalised the elegance and sophistication of interwar and post-war high society through his iconic imagery and designs. As the first comprehensive showcase of his fashion legacy, the exhibition will explore Beaton’s profound influence on film, art, and couture.
Date: 1 October 2025 – 15 December 2025. Price: TBC. Tickets will be available soon. npg.org.uk.
Leigh Bowery!
Fergus Greer, Leigh Bowery Session I Look 2 1988 © Fergus Greer. Courtesy Michael Hoppen Gallery.
#FLODown: This spring, Tate Modern will celebrate the provocative career of Leigh Bowery (1961-1994), an artist known for his boundary-pushing work across fashion, performance, and art. The exhibition Leigh Bowery! will showcase his outlandish costumes, paintings, photography, and videos, highlighting his influence on art, fashion, and popular culture. Bowery’s journey from a young boy in Melbourne to a globally recognized cultural figure will be explored, with a focus on his impact on London’s nightlife and the launch of his iconic club night Taboo in 1985. The exhibition will also feature collaborations with figures like Lucian Freud, as well as his performance art, such as the ‘mirror’ performance and his infamous ‘birth’ performances. Bowery’s creativity extended to music with his band Minty, and his final performance in 1994 marked the far-reaching influence he had on art and fashion.
Date: 27 February – 31 August 2025. Location: Tate Modern, Bankside, London SE1 9TG. Price: £18. Concessions available. Book now.
Click here to discover more art exhibitions to open at Tate Modern and Tate Britain in 2025.
Splash! A Century of Swimming and Style at The Design Museum
Pamela AndersonZUMA Press, Inc./Alamy Stock Photo.
#FLODown: Splash! A Century of Swimming and Style at the Design Museum will explore 100 years of swimwear history and its cultural significance. Highlights include Pamela Anderson’s iconic Baywatch swimsuit, a 1924 Olympic gold medal, and bold men’s Speedos, alongside over 200 objects celebrating the evolution of swimwear and swimming as a cultural phenomenon. Curated by Amber Butchart and Tiya Dahyabhai, the exhibition examines how design has shaped our relationship with water, from high-performance swimwear to architectural masterpieces like Zaha Hadid’s Aquatics Centre.
Date: 28 March - 17 August 2025. Location: The Design Museum, 224-238 Kensington High St, London W8 6AG. Price: £14.38/ £7.19 adult/child. Under 6s go free. Book now.
Cartier Exhibition
Bandeau in emerald, ruby, sapphire, diamond andplatinum, Cartier London, 1928 (c) Victoria andAlbert Museum, London.
#FLODown: The V&A will host its first major Cartier exhibition in over 30 years, showcasing more than 350 iconic pieces that explore the Maison’s legacy of art, design, and craftsmanship. Highlights include jewels worn by Queen Elizabeth II, Rihanna, and Grace Kelly, as well as Cartier’s pioneering timepieces and emblematic panther designs. The exhibition will trace Cartier’s evolution from its founding to its global acclaim as “the jeweller of kings and the king of jewellers.”
Date: 12 April 2025 – 16 November 2025. Location: V&A South Kensington, Cromwell Road, London, SW7 2RL. Price: Weekday £27 / Weekend £29. Concessions available.Book now.
Linder: Danger Came Smiling
Linder, Principle of Totality (Version I), 2012, d…ko, Stockholm, Paris and dépendance, Brussels.
#FLODown: Linder’s upcoming exhibition, Danger Came Smiling, opening at Hayward Gallery on 11 February 2025, offers a bold exploration of the pioneering feminist artist’s 50-year career, with a focus on the body, fashion, and its representation. The exhibition showcases Linder’s distinctive photomontages, which dissect the body’s portrayal in media and fashion, often using a medical-grade scalpel to create provocative works that challenge societal norms. From her early punk-inspired works in the 1970s to new digital montages, Linder’s art continues to critically examine our shifting attitudes towards beauty, sex, food, and the fashion industry’s impact on identity and culture.
Date: 11 February – 5 May 2025. Location: Hayward Gallery, Southbank Centre, Belvedere Rd, London SE1 8XX. Price: from £19. Concessions available. Book now.
Barbie Exhibition
1985 Day to Night Barbie. Photo Mattel, Inc.
#FLODown: A significant exhibition on Barbie™ will open at the Design Museum in July, coinciding with the doll's 65th anniversary in 2024. Curated by Danielle Thom and in collaboration with Mattel Inc., the exhibition will showcase Barbie's design evolution and cultural impact since Ruth Handler created her in 1959. With exclusive access to the Barbie archives in California, the exhibition will explore various design elements, including fashion, architecture, furniture, and vehicles.
Date: 5 July 2024 - 23 February 2025. Location: The Design Museum. 224-238 Kensington High St, London W8 6AG. Price: adult from £14.38. Children aged 6 to 15 from £7.19. Under 6s go free. Book now.
Marie Antoinette Style
Antoinetta, 2005 by Manolo Blahnik.
#FLODown: In September 2025, the V&A will present the UK’s first major exhibition dedicated to Marie Antoinette, exploring the enduring influence of her iconic style. Running until March 2026, the exhibition will showcase how the Queen of France’s fashion and interiors have shaped over 250 years of design, fashion, and decorative arts. Featuring a diverse array of objects and media, from couture gowns to audiovisual installations, the exhibition will delve into Marie Antoinette's impact on style and her lasting legacy as a complex and influential figure.
Date: 20 September 2025 – 22 March 2026. Location: V&A South Kensington, London. vam.ac.uk.
Click here for more art exhibitions to see in London in 2025.
