It's technically winter in Doha, but it's not just the city's temperatures that are red-hot. A duo of blockbuster fashion exhibitions is warming the city’s sartorial cockles; both opened in early November 2021 as part of the schedule of Qatar Creates. The global summit – which focuses on cultural innovation across disciplines including art, design and fashion – also played host to the third iteration of Fashion Trust Arabia, an annual gala from the non-profit initiative, whose mission is to support designers across the MENA, with financial backing and industry support.
Here, we present the fashion exhibition must-sees in the city encircled by desert.
‘Christian Dior: Designer of Dreams’
M72
Closes 31 March 2022
The first fashion exhibition on show at M7 in Msheireb Downtown Doha – a new hub for fashion, design and tech entrepreneurship designed by architects John McAslan + Partners – is the latest travelling iteration of the seminal retrospective that first opened at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris, before moving onto the V&A in London, and then Brooklyn Museum (where it runs until February 2022, see our guide to NYC fashion exhibitions).
At M7, Doha dives into the design history and language not just of Monsieur Dior, but of the creative directors that succeeded him: Yves Saint Laurent, Marc Bohan, Gianfranco Ferré, John Galliano, Raf Simons, and Maria Grazia Chiuri. This show – curated by Olivier Gabet and featuring new scenographic installations by Nathalie Crinière – also features pieces owned by Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, a long-standing client of Christian Dior Couture.
‘Virgil Abloh: Figures of Speech’
Fire Station
Closes 31 March 2022
Installation view, ‘Virgil Abloh: Figures of Speech', Fire Station, Qatar Museums.
The creative polymath’s first museum exhibition in the Middle East, ‘Virgil Abloh: Figures of Speech’ offers a mid-career retrospective, straddling the spheres of visual arts, music, fashion, architecture and design. The exhibition was first shown at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago, Abloh’s home city, before moving to the High Museum of Art in Atlanta. In Doha, it is exhibited across three gallery rooms, and features more than 55 works charting the remarkable output of the Pyrex Vision and Off-White founder and men's artistic director of Louis Vuitton.
Semiotics, streetwear and the nature of dialogue and narrative come into focus as Abloh explores the power of the logo, the role of street signs and the symbolism of high jewellery. Most poignant is the exhibition's Black Gaze room, which analyses Abloh's role in challenging the fashion and design industry’s long-standing exclusion of Black talent, and his ability to provide other people of colour with a global platform. The show is curated by Michael Darling in collaboration with the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, and Samir Bantal from AMO/OMA.
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Summer games, from pétanque to pool floats, get a fashionable spinFrom a luxurious pétanque set to pool floats and playing cards, summer games and toys from the world’s best-known fashion houses
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‘Modern beauty’: Pieter Mulier on his new vision for AlaïaAs creative director of Alaïa, Belgian designer Pieter Mulier honours the timeless vision of the maison’s founder while rewriting the past anew. Here, speaking to Jack Moss, he tells the story behind his first year at the house
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Mariella Bettineschi’s feminist artworks survey guests at Dior A/W 2022 showAs guests gathered at Dior’s A/W 2022 womenswear show venue in Paris, sets of duplicated eyes stared down at them from the artworks of Mariella Bettineschi
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Paris Fashion Week A/W 2022: Chanel to Miu MiuIn this extended report, Wallpaper* updates you live from Paris Fashion Week A/W 2022 shows, with rolling coverage as runway events unfold
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Scene-stealing runway sets from A/W 2022 menswear showsA Kubrickian space odyssey at Prada; a recreation of the Pont Alexandre III in Paris at Dior; and colourful, artist-created flags at Loewe: explore the best runway sets from the A/W 2022 menswear shows
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Dior recreates Paris bridge, Pont Alexandre III, for A/W 2022 showDior recreated Paris’ landmark bridge, Pont Alexandre III, for its A/W 2022 menswear show, which took place on 21 January 2022, the date of Christian Dior’s birthday
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Paris Fashion Week Men’s A/W 2022: Louis Vuitton to Loewe, Dior to HermèsIn this extended report, Laura Hawkins reveals 9 highlights from Paris Fashion Week Men's A/W 2022. Including: Virgil Abloh's final collection for Louis Vuitton; Rick Owen's riff on sleaze; elfin-inspired accessories; and a celebration of slouch and surrealism
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Year in review: fashion features editor Laura Hawkins picks her top 10 posts of 2021Wallpaper’s Laura Hawkins reveals her top 10 fashion posts from 2021, spanning designer interviews, scene-stealing show sets, and innovations towards sustainability
