Renaissance to Runway:
The Enduring Italian Houses

Fashion as a medium undeniably addresses ideas that transcend time from the past into the present. Through the majestic creations of more than 100 modern and contemporary Italian fashions and accessories in dialogue with Italian fine, decorative, and textile arts from the 1400s to the early 1600s, Renaissance to Runway: The Enduring Italian Houses examines the art historical inspirations that fuel recent creative Italian lexicon, expanding fantasies of the Renaissance, Mannerist, and early Baroque periods.

Artworks from the Italian Renaissance, Mannerist, and early Baroque periods from the CMA’s world-renowned collection are paired with a range of couture, or alta moda, and adjacent classified fashions and accessories, conveying the historical period’s cultural preservation within and influence on 20th- and 21st-century Italian fashion designers and houses. Similarly, early modern artwork from around the world is also visually reproduced using various media to illuminate the breadth of inspirations. The exhibition presents approximately 80 ensembles and garments, and 40 jewellery pieces. This exhibition illustrates how fashion, in all of its change, is a continuous thread that uncovers history’s complexities as it materialises contemporary beauty.