Lightroom to premiere new exhibition exploring the catwalk

Lightroom in London will premiere a new immersive exhibition exploring the history of the fashion catwalk show this autumn.

‘Vogue: Inventing the Runway,’ will run from October 25 to March 30, 2025, and will delve into the inner workings of catwalk shows from intimate couture salons of the early 20th century to the unforgettable pop-culture events of the present.

The exhibition will utilise Vogue’s archive and rare materials from fashion houses and contributors “to create an experience that brings together the industry’s leading voices from the past, present, and future”.

It will offer “first-hand testimony and a rich mixture of media,” to reveal how fashion shows have become the ultimate statement of a designer’s vision, including celebrated personalities in the industry, the editors who witnessed the landmark shows, the models who walked them and the designers who created them.

Lightroom’s four-storey walls will act as a 360-degree canvas, allowing visitors to experience and interact with designers’ visions up close “in new ways and at unprecedented scale,” added the venue.

The 50-minute show will cycle through thematic chapters, combining original animation, state-of-the-art sound design, and a score of classical and pop music to “evoke the worlds when iconic shows shifted the cultural landscape”.

‘Vogue: Inventing the Runway’ immersive exhibition opens in London this autumn

Anna Wintour, chief content officer at Condé Nast, and global editorial director of Vogue, said in a statement: “At Vogue, we’ve been lucky enough over the decades to see many incredible runway shows, which have often told the story of fashion as much as the clothes themselves.

“This Lightroom experience is a wonderful opportunity for a lot more people to experience first hand the thrill of watching the history of fashion unfold right in front of them.”

Designers who will be featured include Alexander McQueen, Balenciaga, Burberry, Chanel, Chloé, Coperni, Dior, Dries Van Noten, Givenchy, Gucci, Iris Van Herpen, Jacquemus, Jean Paul Gaultier, Louis Vuitton, Marc Jacobs, Moschino, Prada, Stella McCartney, Thierry Mugler, Thom Browne, Versace and Yohji Yamamoto.

Mark Guiducci, creative editorial director at Vogue, added: “Runway shows have reflected society and its values for more than a century.

“We hope that Inventing the Runway gives audiences a better understanding of how those shows mirror the changes not only in fashion, but also culture at large—the arts, entertainment, technology, politics, and the ways that they’re all intertwined.”