While in most “classic” museums you will find art objects, ancient weapons or dinosaur bones, there are also institutions entirely dedicated to the history of fashion. Such museums began to appear in large numbers at the turn of the XX-XXI centuries. Some of them have encyclopedic collections spanning centuries and continents, while others are dedicated to just one designer, delving into the history of his formation and development of a certain fashion house. Whether you are looking for world-famous dresses from the high fashion line or want to see ancient shoes, all this is present in the top 10 best fashion museums that are collected on our list.
1
Musee Yves Saint Laurent - Paris, France
Yves Saint Laurent created his own haute couture line for almost thirty years, until he retired in 2002, leaving the fashion house to be managed by his assistants and business partners. In 2017, after the death of the fashion designer, his illustrious atelier found a new life, having opened as the museum of Yves Saint Laurent and the headquarters of the foundation of the same name, which aims to preserve the work of the master. You will have to stand a long line if you do not take care of buying tickets in advance. The museum, which holds exhibitions of various iconic collections of Yves Saint Laurent, is unusually popular at any time of the year, regardless of the weather and tourist season.
2
Bata Shoe Museum - Toronto, Canada
Sonya Bata, a Canadian-born architect who built a successful business career, loved shoes more than anything else. She loved her so much that she traveled around the world, collecting exclusive pairs of shoes from different eras. In the end, Sonya founded the Bata Shoe Foundation. This fund facilitated the search and financed the study of the rarest pairs of shoes. In 1995, a shoe museum named after Sony Bath was opened in Toronto. Among the exhibits you can find pairs of shoes whose age exceeds 2 thousand years, all in all, the museum stores about 13,000 items, among them not only shoes, but also things associated with its manufacture.
3
Kyoto Costume Institute - Kyoto, Japan
Despite the fact that Japan can be proud of its own fashion, the Kyoto Costume Institute (KCI) chose Western fashion industry as its object of study. The collection of the museum, located at the institute, contains more than 12 thousand items of clothing of Western culture dating back to the XVII century. Due to the fact that natural fabrics can be subject to destruction, clothes are not exhibited for permanent exposure. Instead, a small gallery is opened, with an area of approximately 1 thousand m², which on a temporary basis shows various parts of the collection. KCI also collaborates with museums around the world, providing and borrowing clothing for exhibitions.
4
Christian Dior Museum and Garden - Granville, France
Christian Dior's childhood passed in Normandy at the Villa Les Rhumbs, which is a masterpiece of architectural art. The walls of the villa are made in pastel pink colors, which is reflected in the works of the famous fashion designer, who is nostalgic for the house of her childhood. In many interviews, Christian Dior stated that, along with the house, his main “inspirer” was a picturesque garden, laid out around the villa. Today, the house is transformed into a seasonal museum, the exposition of which is completely dedicated to the fashion designer. There are exhibitions of his best collections, created perfumes, as well as personal items of Christian. And also all visitors can stroll through the famous garden and admire the facade of Villa les Rhumbs.
Pay attention to the most beautiful gardens in the world on most-beauty.ru there is an interesting article.
5
Cristobal Balenciaga Museoa - Getaria, Spain
In 2011, the small fishing town of Getaria, in the Basque Country (Spanish autonomy), became a participant in an outstanding event. A museum was opened in it dedicated to the activities of one of the most famous natives of Getaria - Cristobal Balenciaga. The museum has collected more than 1,200 items of clothing created by the great fashion designer, in particular, several rare items of the first half of the 20th century. The entire collection was collected thanks to private collectors who donated Balenciaga clothes to the museum named after him. Among patrons, the most-beauty editorial met the names of Hubert de Givenchy, Bani Mellon and other celebrities of the last century.
6
Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art - New York, USA
Perhaps the Costume Institute of the Metropolitan Museum of Art is best known for its summer ball called Met Gala. It began to be held from the middle of the last century, but then anyone could attend the party, now the price of an admission ticket starts at $ 30,000, and such stars as Rihanna, Beyoncé and The Weeknd become guests of the evening.
Ball organizer Anna Wintour (editor-in-chief of the fashion magazine Vogue) holds it annually at the end of May, the main purpose of the event is to collect donations to support the Costume Institute. The institute itself has at least 35,000 exhibits in its collection, including clothing items from five continents. Some of them date back to the 15th century. The institute was founded as an independent institution in 1937, but after 9 years it became part of the Metropolitan, which made it one of the first fashion museums in the world.
7
Victoria and Albert Museum - London, United Kingdom
Although the Victoria and Albert Museum is dedicated to design and arts and crafts, being the largest institution on this subject, it also has more than 14,000 items of clothing collected over the past five centuries. Such a collection allows us to consider V&A a fashion museum. Like the Metropolitan, the Victoria and Albert Museum holds annual exhibitions on clothing design. It will be a pleasant surprise for tourists to find out that the entrance to the museum is free, although this does not apply to the fashion exhibition.
8
Gucci Garden - Florence, Italy
Gucci Garden was opened to mark the 90th anniversary of the brand in the Florentine Palazzo della Mercanzia. The museum existed before that, but in a slightly different format. Of course, the museum’s exposition is completely dedicated to the Gucci heritage, from the creations of Guccio Gucci himself to the models of contemporary designers of the fashion empire. The building was renovated in 2017, now along with exhibition venues, visitors will find restaurants and shops for shopping souvenirs and clothing of the brand in Gucci Garden. Year-round expositions cover everything from collections of suitcases to scarves and jewelry. A particular pride of museum executives is the 1979 Cadillac Seville, draped in fabric with the Gucci logo.
9
The Museum at FIT - New York, United States
The New York Institute of Fashion Technology (FIT) has a museum with a collection of about 50,000 items of clothing and fashion accessories. All exhibits cannot be seen at the same time, as they alternate at semi-annual exhibitions, "diluting" the museum's permanent collection. The museum’s leaders also conduct thematic exhibitions dedicated to a certain period or an individual fashion designer. Students of the institute have an additional incentive, as their best works are displayed in the gallery of the institution. The institute was opened in Manhattan in 1944, while the museum appeared 25 years later as a "Design Laboratory."
By the way, on our site most-beauty.ru there is a fascinating article about the most strange and unusual museums in the world.
10
Palais Galliera - Paris, France
This institution was founded at the end of the XIX century in France. Initially, it served as the “receptacle” of the private collection of the Duke and Duchess of Gallier. At some point, the mansion was used as a museum of industrial art and a place for auctions. It was later reorganized into the Fashion Museum, whose collection includes more than 70,000 items of clothing and accessories dating from the 18th century. Here you can also find the best works of world famous fashion designers, including Christian Dior, Yves Saint Laurent, Paco Raban, Cristobal Balenciaga and many others.
Finally
These were the top ten fashion museums according to most-beauty.ru. But if you want to advise us and our readers to other equally interesting museums, write about this in the comments.