Cassatt in Chicago, Nara in Chelsea, Alaïa in San Francisco, and eight more opening between now and November.

One of the best ways to spend an autumn afternoon is to stroll around an art museum, exploring what's on display in the different galleries. From the Tate Modern in London to the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris, or The Met in New York, museums offer a space to pause from our busy lives, take a moment to contemplate art, and discover something new.&nbsp;
Fashion, of course, always intersects with art in unique and interesting ways. The Victoria and Albert Museum in South Kensington recently announced its upcoming exhibition, "<a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/fashion/burberry-victoria-and-albert-museum-exhibition-170th-anniversary-trench-coat-house-icons">The Burberry Trench: Crafting an Icon</a>." On display from Sept. 21 to Jan. 3, 2027, the exhibit will feature rare material from the Burberry Archive and explore how the iconic trench began as practical outerwear and military attire, evolving into one of the house’s most sought-after pieces. 
In Belgium, the Fashion Museum Antwerp (MoMu) is celebrating 40 years of "<a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/fashion/who-are-the-antwerp-six-marina-yee-death-belgian-fashion-designers">The Antwerp Six</a>," a group of iconic avant-garde fashion designers who each had their first breakthrough at the British Designer Show in London. You must be familiar with the names Dries Van Noten, Dirk Bikkembergs, Ann Demeulemeester, Walter Van Beirendonck, Dirk Van Saene, and Marina Yee. The exhibit first opened in March and will close on Jan. 17, 2027.&nbsp;
At the Brooklyn Museum, the Dutch designer <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/fashion/iris-van-herpen-avant-garde-runway-moments">Iris van Herpen</a>, celebrated for her fusion of haute couture craftsmanship and technology, is taking her retrospective "Sculpting the Senses" one step further. On select days, the designer is on-site at the museum, working in her atelier and inviting visitors to collaborate with her on constructing an ongoing piece. This "Sculpting the (Un)Spoken" performance views&nbsp;creation as an exchange of knowledge and ideas, which is all part of van Herpen's creative process. 
In addition to these three exhibitions, there are plenty of exciting shows scheduled to open from September through November.&nbsp;
Below, L'OFFICIEL has rounded up 11 of the most anticipated art exhibits debuting this fall.&nbsp;

<h3 style="text-align: center;">"Mary Cassatt: After Impressionism" at The Chicago Art Institute</h3>

Mary Cassatt. The Child’s Bath, 1893. The Art Institute of Chicago, Robert A. Waller Fund. Photo by Robert Lifson, The Art Institute of Chicago.

"Mary Cassatt: After Impressionism," a new exhibition from The Art Institute of Chicago, takes a closer look at the crucial moment in Cassatt’s career from the late 1880s to the early 1900s, when she took her art in a new direction. Cassatt explored modernism, and it was in this period that the signature subject of women and children became her speciality. The exhibition brings together some of Cassatt's most recognizable paintings, like The Child's Bath and Modern Woman, a mural for the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago. There will be more than 70 works by Cassatt on display, showcasing her innovation and commitment to centering women’s everyday lives in her art.&nbsp;
"Mary Cassatt: After Impressionism" will be on view from Sept. 6, 2026, to Jan. 3, 2027

<h3 style="text-align: center;">"Doll Dressing" at the Museum at FIT, New York City</h3>

Lirika Matoshi, “Apartment Coat" with faux fur trim, 2024, museum purchase. Photo by Eileen Costa, Courtesy of The Museum at FIT.

From The Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology comes a new exhibition, "Doll Dressing," that examines the cultural relationship between dolls, pop culture, and fashion in the 20th and 21st centuries. It will feature more than 170 pieces, from fashion dolls to a variety of garments, accessories, and artworks. The exhibition will uncover how dolls are more than objects of childhood play, becoming canvases for designers like Balenciaga, Comme des Garçons, Maison Margiela, Marc Jacobs, and many others. In early 14th-century Europe, dolls were miniature fashion models, and by the 20th century, dolls both reflected and shaped fashion. On Nov. 14, The Museum at FIT will host a "Doll Dressing" symposium, where leading scholars and designers will be in conversation with curator Dr. Colleen Hill.&nbsp;
"Doll Dressing" will be on view from Sept. 16, 2026, to Jan. 3, 2027

<h3 style="text-align: center;">"Rafael Pavarotti, Photographe" at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris</h3>

Musée des Arts Décoratifs presents the work of Afro-Indigenous Brazilian fashion photographer Rafael Pavarotti. He is best known for his editorials, his campaigns for Dior, Balmain, Maison Margiela, Ferragamo, and his portraits of pop culture icons such as Rihanna, Harry Styles, and Beyoncé.&nbsp;This is the first time Pavarotti's work will be shown in France.
"Rafael Pavarotti, Photographe" will be on view from Oct. 2, 2026, to May 2, 2027

<h3 dir="ltr" role="presentation" style="text-align: center;">"The 90s: Art and Fashion"&nbsp;at the Tate Modern, London</h3>

Juergen Teller, Young Pink Kate, London 1998 © Juergen Teller, All Rights Reserved

The '90s are so back. The Tate Modern will present the first exhibition to explore art, photography, and fashion of the 1990s, discovering the period's unique creative energy. This exhibition will feature almost 70 artists, photographers, and designers, including Alexander McQueen, alongside over&nbsp;100 photographs, paintings, sculptures, and garments representative of a transformative moment in the British art scene.&nbsp;&nbsp;
"The 90s: Art and Fashion" will be on view from Oct. 8, 2026, to Feb. 14, 2027

<h3 style="text-align: center;">"Tim Walker’s Fairyland: Love and Legends" at the National Portrait Gallery, London</h3>

L-R: Ian McKellen, Love, London, 2023; Chappell Roan, Fashion: Chanel Haute Couture, New York City, 2025; Isaac Julien and Queen Conch Shell, London, 2023; Miriam Margolyes, Clapham Cream Teas, London, 2023

"Tim Walker’s Fairyland: Love and Legends" at the National Gallery of Art is an exploration of queer identity, activism, community, and love through the lens of one of Britain’s foremost photographers. Walker became known for his unique style of whimsical photography inspired by fairytales and adventures.&nbsp;Walker has spent the past five years photographing dozens of activists, performers, artists, and writers, connecting with queer trailblazers in Britain and beyond.&nbsp;250 portraits will be featured in this exhibition, including Isaac Julien, Ian McKellen, Miriam Margolyes, Chappell Roan, and more.&nbsp;
"Tim Walker’s Fairyland: Love and Legends" will be on view from Oct. 8, 2026, to Jan. 31, 2027.&nbsp;

<h3 style="text-align: center;">"Designing the Gilded Age Drawings From the Studios of Louis C. Tiffany" at The Met, New York City</h3>

Tiffany Studios (American, 1902–32). Design for interior, First Presbyterian Church, Poughkeepsie, New York (detail), ca. 1906-08. Transparent and opaque watercolor, and graphite on transparent paper, mounted on paper, 17 ¾ × 25 ½ in. (45.1 × 64.8 cm). The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Purchase, Walter Hoving and Julia T. Weld Gifts and Dodge Fund, 1967 (67.654.7)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art will present nearly 120 works from the museum's large collection of design drawings—along with a select number of loaned pieces—to explore Louis Comfort Tiffany's artistic career and the creative process of Tiffany Studio, which produced many major works of American decorative art. "Designing the Gilded Age: Drawings from the Studios of Louis C. Tiffany" spans the early 1890s to the 1920s, featuring designs of stained-glass windows, lamps, mosaics, textiles, and more. Most notably, the stained-glass window, Woman in a Pergola with Wisteria&nbsp;(1911), will be reunited with its original design drawing for the first time in nearly 50 years.
"Designing the Gilded Age: Drawings from the Studios of Louis C. Tiffany" will be on view from Oct. 22, 2026, to Feb. 7, 2027

<h3 style="text-align: center;">"Avery, Gottlieb &amp; Rothko: By the Sea" at The Phillips Collection, Washington, D.C.&nbsp;</h3>

Milton Avery, Black Sea, 1959, The Phillips Collection, Acquired 1965; © 2025 Milton Avery Trust/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.

"Avery, Gottlieb &amp; Rothko: By the Sea" from The Phillips Collection examines the friendship, creative exchange, and coastal summers that helped define three influential figures in 20th-century American art. Milton Avery (1885–1965), Adolph Gottlieb (1903–1974), and Mark Rothko (1903–1970) spent summers drawing and painting on Cape Ann in Gloucester, Massachusetts, in the 1920s and 30s. The three artists found a place to experiment artistically, developed a creative community on Cape Ann, and discovered an escape from the pressures of life in New York City. This exhibition illuminates how a shared sense of place, an expressive use of color, and experimentation with scale became catalysts for each artist’s individual development. Approximately 90 paintings, watercolors, drawings, and sketches will be on display—and many of these works have never been seen by the public before.&nbsp;
"Avery, Gottlieb &amp; Rothko: By the Sea" will be on view from Oct. 24, 2026, to Jan. 24, 2027.&nbsp;

<h3 style="text-align: center;">"Brancusi: The Artist and His Studio" at MoMA, New York City</h3>

Constantin Brancusi. Self-portrait in the studio with Endless Columns I–IV, Fish (1930), Leda (1926). c. 1934. Glass negative, 5 7/8 × 3 15/16&quot; (15 × 10 cm). Centre Pompidou, Paris, Musée national d’art moderne-Centre de création industrielle, Constantin Brancusi Bequest, 1957. PH 854. Digital Image © CNAC/MNAM, Dist. RMN-Grand Palais / Art Resource, NY. © Succession Brancusi – All rights reserved (Adagp).

The Museum of Modern Art will present rarely lent works from Atelier Brancusi, housed at the Centre Pompidou in Paris. The exhibition, "Brancusi: The Artist and His Studio," surveys the career of sculptor and artist Constantin Brancusi, who lived from 1876 to 1957. For more than 40 years, Brancusi's studio in Paris served as an exhibition space, where he entertained friends and clients, and was also where he lived and worked—a site of artistic and social exchange. Brancusi’s hand-carved furniture and bases, films, photographs, tools, and archival materials from Centre Pompidou’s Atelier Brancusi will take center stage at MoMA's next major exhibition, tracing the arc of the artist's sculptural development.&nbsp;
"Brancusi: The Artist and His Studio" will be on view from Oct 25, 2026, to Feb. 27, 2027

<h3 dir="ltr" style="text-align: center;">Yoshitomo Nara at David Zwirner, New York City</h3>

Yoshitomo Nara will receive his first large-scale solo show in New York City in nearly a decade at David Zwirner, spanning the gallery's 537 West 20th Street and 533 West 19th Street locations. Nara was born in 1959 in Hirosaki, Aomori Prefecture. He studied at Aichi University of the Arts before spending five years at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf under German neo-expressionist A. R. Penck. His large-headed, wide-eyed figures, painted since the 1990s, were featured in a survey from the Guggenheim Bilbao to London's Hayward Gallery across 2024 and 2025. He understands them as self-portraits.
The 20th Street space will hold new paintings and drawings alongside early works Nara selected himself, including canvases from 2026 in a notably more muted palette and large-format monochrome drawings made with industrial oil-based paint sticks. At 19th Street, 13 bronze heads from 2024—enlarged 10 times from palm-sized clay prototypes and coated in matte white urethane—recall the snow "monsters" that heavy snowfall built during his childhood winters in northern Japan. The show opens two days before "Yoshitomo Nara: Sentinels of Stillness" inaugurates the Annual West Lawn Series at the Hirshhorn Sculpture Garden in Washington, D.C.
The exhibition will be on view from Oct. 29 to Dec. 12, 2026

<h3 style="text-align: center;">"Azzedine Alaïa: Sculpting Fashion" at the Legion of Honor, Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco&nbsp;</h3>

Portrait of Azzedine Alaïa by Gilles Bensimon. Courtesy of Fondation Azzedine Alaïa and the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco.

Celebrating legendary fashion designer Azzedine Alaïa, the Legion of Honor, Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, will present the first major United States retrospective dedicated to the late Tunisian-born and Paris-based couturier in the exhibition "Azzedine Alaïa: Sculpting Fashion."&nbsp;
Alaïa first trained as a sculptor at the&nbsp;École des Beaux-Arts in Tunis, then as a dressmaker in Paris, before producing his first ready-to-wear collection in 1980. His sculptural designs graced the likes of Tina Turner, Grace Jones, and Rihanna, revolutionizing fashion of the 1980s and '90s by creating clothes that celebrated the natural curves of women's bodies. In a comprehensive study of Alaïa's creative process and his enduring influence in the world of fashion, this exhibit will showcase 80 garments from the designer's career and his haute couture historical collections.
"Azzedine Alaïa: Sculpting Fashion" will be on view from Nov. 21, 2026, to April 11, 2027.&nbsp;

<h3 style="text-align: center;">"Peggy Guggenheim in London: The Making of a Collector" at the Royal Academy of Arts, London&nbsp;</h3>

Vasily Kandinsky, Dominant Curve, April 1936. Oil on canvas, 129.2 x 194.3 cm. Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, Solomon R. Guggenheim Founding Collection

"Peggy Guggenheim in London: The Making of a Collector" is presented by the Royal Academy of Arts and celebrates Peggy Guggenheim's groundbreaking gallery, Guggenheim Jeune.
Guggenheim Jeune ran from January 1938 to June 1939, establishing Guggenheim as a key figure of London's art world in the late 1930s and a leading venue for surrealist and abstract works. This exhibition reunites more than 80 works across painting, sculpture, drawings, collage, prints, and photography that Guggenheim first featured in her gallery. These landmark shows represented artists like Eileen Agar, Jean Cocteau, Salvador Dalí, Barbara Hepworth, Vasily Kandinsky, and more. Guggenheim Jeune's bold and exploratory spirit showcased Guggenheim's unique vision, becoming the origin of her world-famous art collection, now housed in Venice.
"Peggy Guggenheim in London: The Making of a Collector" will be on view from Nov. 21, 2026, to March 14, 2027

The Art Exhibitions You Need To Know For Fall 2026

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