This year the range of fashion exhibitions include a doll, Barbie®, a model, Naomi Campbell, Diné (Navajo) textile and fashion designs, and the establishment – Chanel and Balenciaga.

If you thought the Barbie phenomenon has diminished, it hasn’t. Besides the movie winning the Cinematic and Box Office Achievement Golden Globe award, Phoenix Art Museum presents “Barbie®: A Cultural Icon” created by Illusion Projects and Mattel, Inc. Barbie® examines the brand’s 60+ year history and the doll’s global impact on pop culture showcasing 250 objects of vintage dolls, historical objects, and life-size fashion designs. It’s complemented by the Museum’s own exhibition “The Power of Pink” drawn exclusively from their expansive fashion collection, which explores the history, science, and associations of the color synonymous with the iconic Barbie brand. Both exhibitions run 14 February 2024–07 July 2024.

Victoria & Albert Museum presents NAOMI, an exhibition exploring the exceptional 40-year career of fashion model and British icon Naomi Campbell. After being scouted in Covent Garden at the young age of 15, she quickly rose to prominence in the industry, making history a few years later when, at 18, she became the first Black model to be featured on the cover of Paris Vogue (August 1988).

Although a trailblazer in the field, born in 1970, Campbell’s celebrated career comes on the heels of African American pioneering supermodels, Donyale Luna, Naomi Ruth Sims, and Beverly Johnson. During the tumultuous time of the 60’s, Luna, Sims, and Johnson were the first Blacks to grace the covers of mainstream fashion magazines: Donyale Luna on the cover of British Vogue, March 1966, and Beverly Johnson on the cover of American Vogue, August 1974.

After four decades in the fashion industry and British cultural landscape, Campbell continues to star in global catwalk shows, advertising campaigns and editorial fashion shoots. In parallel, Campbell’s cultural leadership, activism and championing of emerging creatives transcend the traditional parameters of the fashion catwalk model role. Unique in her field, Campbell is recognized across the world, from London, Milan and Paris, to Beijing, Lagos and New York.

Produced in collaboration with Naomi Campbell, NAOMI will be the first exhibition of its kind where a model will be the focus of an exhibition at the V&A. “I’m honored to be asked by the V&A to share my life in clothes with the world,” Naomi Campbell said in a statement.

The exhibition will draw upon Campbell’s own extensive wardrobe of haute couture and leading ready-to-wear ensembles along with loans from designer archives and objects from the V&A collection. The exhibition will include around 100 looks from the best of global high fashion chronicling her 40 years in the industry including designs by Alexander McQueen, Azzedine Alaïa, Chanel, Dolce & Gabbana, Gianni and Donatella Versace, Jean Paul Gaultier, John Galliano, Karl Lagerfeld, Kenneth Ize, Valentino, Virgil Abloh, Vivienne Westwood, and Yves Saint Laurent.

In addition, there will be a fashion photography installation with imagery by leading photographers such as Nick Knight, Steven Meisel, and Tim Walker, curated by British Vogue’s editor-in-chief Edward Enninful OBE.

The exhibition will also recognize Campbell’s mentors including prominent public figures such as Nelson Mandela, who opened Campbell’s eyes to social injustice and went on to inspire her to use her platform for social change. Campbell has advocated for equity from an early age, joining the Black Girls Coalition in 1989 and fronting the 2007 ‘black issue’ of Vogue Italia. Along with Iman and Bethann Hardison, she has campaigned for The Diversity Coalition since 2013 to champion diversity on the catwalk.  And supports emerging creatives, through events such as Arise Fashion Week and her global initiative EMERGE, founded in 2022.

Sonnet Stanfill, Senior Curator of Fashion at the V&A stated, “Naomi Campbell’s extraordinary career intersects with the best of high fashion. She is recognized worldwide as a supermodel, activist, philanthropist, and creative collaborator, making her one of the most prolific and influential figures in contemporary culture. We’re delighted to be working with Naomi Campbell on this project and to celebrate her career with our audiences.” NAOMI opens 22 June 2024 and will run through 6 April 2025.

Kent State University Museum presents “Sukeina: The Light of Omar Salam”, the work of emerging designer Omar Salam, founder and creative director of Sukeina. In 2023, Omar Salam was inducted into the prestigious Kent State School of Fashion Hall of Fame, joining inductees such as Kenneth Cole, Estee Lauder, Oscar de la Renta, Dana Buchman, Leonardo Ferragamo and Josie Natori. A Parsons School of Design alum, Salam worked for Sonia Rykiel and Christian Lacroix before launching his own fashion house Sukeina in 2012.

As a fashion storyteller who once said, “clothing is a language within itself,” Salam’s designs feature clean lines with intricate hand detailing. The exhibition will showcase his stunning origami-like pieces of dimensionally folded neoprene, grouped according to his collections which each bear a name evoking the spirit which unify the pieces such as Rise, Hue, Miracle, Bloom and Cardinal. 

The RISD Museum presents “Diné Textiles: Nizhónígo Hadadít’eh”, an exhibition that explores the dynamic Diné (Navajo) apparel designs. From 19th century mantas and wearable blankets to contemporary Diné fashion designs, the exhibition showcases 150 years of resilience and creativity. Hózhó, a Diné concept of balance, beauty, and harmony, is demonstrated throughout the exhibition of striking textile designs that feature symmetrical geometries, intricate use of light and dark color, and embody the legacy of matriarchal teaching.

Many of the names of the weavers in the exhibition are not in the museum’s records. Despite their identities being lost to us today, these Diné women were known in their communities. Contemporary Native American artists featured include Melissa Cody (Diné), Korina Emmerich (Puyallup) of whose work was featured in “CLOTH, Construct, CULTURE: fashion builds a story”, TahNibaa Naataanii (Diné), Cara Romero (Chemehuevi), Gilmore Scott (Diné), and Darby Raymond-Overstreet (Diné) – the designer of the exhibition logo.

Take a final look, closing soon … Framed in storytelling, “CLOTH, Construct, CULTURE: fashion builds a story” exhibits the work of contemporary designers Kyle Denman, Isabella Diorio, Korina Emmerich (Puyallup), Karen Glass, Alena Kalana, Ruree Lee, Maital Levitan, Abiola Onabulé, and Yun Qu.  Their skillfully designed collections examine world issues around the environment, multiculturalism, identity, and human connection, while calling attention to victimized and marginalized communities.

The exhibition explores fashion’s deeper purpose, its role in contributing to our culture, designed to offer an educational experience and intelligent context of how the construct of cloth can tell a story through design, triggering conversations regarding these issues, without losing focus of its aesthetic appeal.

Approximately 50 objects of exquisitely created looks, typically not seen in off-the-rack fashion, “CLOTH” reveals that innovative flair and socio-cultural narratives are not mutually exclusive. Curated by Rhonda P. Hill, on view–24 January 2024, at Parallax Art Center, Portland, Oregon.

Must See Exhibitions Closing Soon:

CLOTH, Construct, CULTURE: fashion builds a story (curated by Rhonda P. Hill), Parallax Art Center, Portland, Oregon; now on view–24 January 2024

Africa Fashion, Portland Art Museum, Portland, Oregon; now on view–18 February 2024

Gabrielle Chanel. Fashion Manifesto, Victoria & Albert Museum, London; now on view–25 February 2024

Women Dressing Women, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; now on view–3 March 2024

Women Fashioning Women, Louisiana State University Textile & Costume Museum, Baton Rouge, LA; now on view–28 March 2024

Must See Exhibitions:

Fashioning San Francisco: A Century of Style, de Young Museum, San Francisco, CA; 20 January 2024–11 August 2024

Statement Sleeves, The Museum at FIT, New York; 24 January 2024–25 August 2024

Cristóbal Balenciaga: Master of Tailoring, SCAD Museum of Art, Atlanta, GA; 25 January 2024–02 June 2024

Barbie®: A Cultural Icon, The Power of Pink, Phoenix Art Museum, Phoenix, AZ; 14 February 2024–07 July 2024

Sukeina: The Light of Omar Salam, Kent State University Museum, Kent, OH; 16 February 2024–02 June 2024

Coming Home: Geoffrey Beene, Louisiana State University Museum of Art, Baton Rouge, LA; 26 April 2024–01 September 2024

Diné Textiles: Nizhónígo Hadadít’eh, RISD Museum, Providence, RI; now on view–29 September 2024

Edith Head: Hollywood’s Costume Designer, Oklahoma City Museum of Art, Oklahoma City, OK; 22 June 2024 – 29 September 2024

Naomi, Victoria & Albert Museum, London; 22 June 2024–6 April 2025

Feature image: Naomi Campbell. Photographer – Marco Bahler | courtesy of V&A Museum, 2023