The most important fashion and costume museums in the world represent an important source of inspiration for the art of fashion that never stops renewing itself. Season after season, fashion continues to dictate its own trends which are cyclically loved, hated, copied and finally shelved by its followers.

The museums of fashion and costume increasingly represent an important source of inspiration and research for this art that never stops renewing itself.

Below is a small guide to the main fashion museums in the world:

The Costume Institute – New York

The Costume Institute with over 35,000 costumes and accessories, represents the largest and most complete collection of costumes in the world, offering an unrivaled timeline of the history of Western fashion.

Victoria & Albert Museum – London

It is the largest international art and design museum. It boasts a collection of unparalleled objects from the most ancient world civilizations and dedicates a large space to Fashion and Costume.

Mode Museum – Antwerp

MoMu in Antwerp hosts the largest collection of contemporary Belgian fashion in the world and stands out for its engaging fashion exhibitions.

The collection includes clothing, accessories and fabrics, as well as more unexpected pieces such as tools, machines for textile production, models and invitations for fashion shows.

Les Art Décoratifs – Paris

The Musée des Arts Décoratifs was born at the beginning of the last century as a large textile collection (silks, embroidery, lace, printed fabrics) and will continue to grow until it has over 60,200 works including costumes, accessories, fabrics but also a vast collection of photographs and graphics.

Fashion Museum – Bath UK

The Bath Fashion Museum is a world-class collection of historical fashion clothes.

There are almost 100,000 objects in the collection of the Fashion Museum, ranging from the decorated gloves of Shakespeare’s time to the fashions of today’s designers in the Dress of the Year collection.