At the magestic Palazza Pitti in Florence there is a fashion exhibition at the Museum of Costume and Fashion. It is a century of fashion, but there are earlier exhibits as well. Stunning paintings relating to the fashions are shown near the garments.
Be prepared to climb several staircases to get to the exhibition.
Walk through some beautiful rooms to enter the museum, and don’t forget to look up.
I loved this hat near the entrance.
Italian gown from the second quarter of the 18th century.
On a wall nearby.
A few decades later
Moving on.
Wedding gown 1884
More.
From here we move into the next century.
Circa 1913
A simple tunic from the Venice workshop 1910 – 1920.
Jacques Doucer 1910 – 1920 kimono.
Mariano Fortunt 1934 tunic.
Coco Chanel 1929 and Galileo Chini of Florence 1912
The backdrop.
1925 Italian.
1923 Italian
1930 Jeanne Paquin
Madeleine Vionnet 1937 – 1938
Elsa Schiaparelli 1936
Elsa Schiaparelli 1938 – 1939
Madeleine Vionnet 1934.
1950s
Yves Saint Laurent 1958.
Christian Dior 1948.
Sartoria Magnani 1958 – 1959
1960s.
1960s
1970
Andre Courreges 1975
Pierre Cardin. 1969
Federico Forquet ((Napoli) 1962
Gianfranco Ferre 1987 – 1988
Gianfranco Ferre 1997
Gianfranco Ferre 1997 – 1998
Valentino Garavani 2000 – 2005
Federico Forquet 1968
Prada 2007 – 2008
John Galliano 1998
Maurizio Galante 1996
Jean Patou
The exhibition finished without any explanation at this point. I hope I have got all the names and dates correct. There was quite a lot to see.
A general ticket into Palazzo Pitti will allow entrance to the fashion collection. You are free to see other collections as well. I am happy I was in Italy to see this interesting progression of fashion.
Wow Deb what a fantastic exhibition- the waists unbelievable- not sure 🤔 if I could have worn anything until 1930 – such an amazing exhibition so lucky to see it – Helen
By: Helen on April 18, 2026
at 9:45 pm
Thanks for sharing this Debi. We’re fortunate that photos are allowed. Divine design!
By: Christine Collins on April 18, 2026
at 10:37 pm