Catwalk opens at V&A Dundee for a five-month run
V&A Dundee’s new UK-exclusive exhibition, Catwalk: The Art of the Fashion Show, opens on 10 August 2026 and runs until 17 January 2027. Visitors can enter from 10am at the museum on 1 Riverside Esplanade, Dundee, with the exhibition exploring more than a century of runway history.
The Dundee City Events listing says tickets were due to go on sale from February 2026, but it does not state a ticket price. The exhibition is likely to appeal most directly to visitors interested in fashion, photography, performance, stage design and the changing ways designers present their collections.
From private salons to live-streamed runways
The exhibition follows the catwalk’s development from the private fashion salons of the late 19th century to the immersive presentations and live-streamed shows familiar today. That timeline places the garments within the wider spectacle of the runway, where staging, movement, photography and film can shape how a collection is remembered.
Rather than presenting fashion solely through clothes on display, Catwalk combines original garments with film, photography, stage props and archival material. These elements are used to revisit notable runway presentations from across the last century and examine their cultural impact.
The exhibition was created by the Vitra Design Museum and V&A Dundee. Its billing as a UK exclusive means Dundee is the only UK location identified for this presentation.
Fashion houses represented at V&A Dundee
Visitors can expect landmark examples connected with Alexander McQueen, Balenciaga, Chanel, Dior, Maison Margiela, Prada, Paco Rabanne, Viktor & Rolf, Louis Vuitton and Yohji Yamamoto, among others.
The range reflects the different forms a fashion show can take. Archival records document moments that have passed, while original garments and stage props bring viewers closer to the physical materials behind the performance. Film and photography preserve the movement, setting and audience-facing character that distinguish a runway presentation from a conventional display.
One image associated with the exhibition captures Shalom Harlow in the final look from Alexander McQueen’s Spring/Summer 1999 No. 13 collection. It offers a source-backed example of the runway moments around which the exhibition is built.
Dates, opening hours and ticket status
| Detail | Confirmed information |
|---|---|
| Exhibition dates | 10 August 2026 to 17 January 2027 |
| Venue | V&A Dundee, 1 Riverside Esplanade, Dundee, DD1 4EZ |
| Opening time | 10am |
| Closing time | 5pm |
| Ticket status | Tickets were listed as going on sale from February 2026 |
| Price | No specific amount was published in the supplied listing |
V&A Dundee’s published opening hours are 10am to 5pm daily from April to December. From January to March, the museum is listed as opening from 10am to 5pm except on Tuesdays. The individual event dates also contain gaps around late December and early January, so visitors planning a festive-period trip should check the current museum schedule before travelling.
The source does not provide exhibition-specific accessibility, transport or parking details. For booking updates and the latest visitor arrangements, the listed contact is V&A Dundee on 01382 411 611.
Source: Dundee City Events
Context & actions About this article
Source check Source trail
Dates, opening hours, venue details and ticket status were drawn from the Dundee City Events listing supplied for this preview.
- Confirmed the exhibition period as 10 August 2026 to 17 January 2027.
- Confirmed the venue as V&A Dundee, 1 Riverside Esplanade, Dundee, DD1 4EZ.
- Checked the listed opening hours of 10am to 5pm and the January Tuesday closure pattern.
- Kept the ticket price unstated because no specific amount was published.
- Source
- Dundee City Events
- Scope
- Dundee
- Updated
- 2026-08-10 15:50
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