Enfilade

Opening soon at the Palais Galliera:

Fashion in the 18th Century: A Fantasized Legacy

La Mode du 18e Siècle: Un Héritage Fantasmé

Palais Galliera, Paris, 14 March — 12 July 2026

Curated by Émilie Hammen, with Pascale Gorguet-Ballesteros and Alice Freudiger

Polish-style Dress and Skirt, ca. 1770–75 (Palais Galliera / Paris Musées).

Fashion in the 18th Century: A Fantasized Legacy looks at the characteristics of women’s fashion during the Age of Enlightenment and its numerous reinterpretations throughout fashion history up until the present day. Marked by an unprecedented creative energy, the eighteenth century may be characterized by its diverse silhouettes, rich fabrics, and exuberant accessories and hairstyles. It also marked the end of a model of women’s dress inherited from previous centuries, thus paving the way for a new conception of the body and the appearance.

From the Second Empire onwards, women’s fashion drew largely on the aesthetics of the Enlightenment as a plentiful source of inspiration. In a context of political and social upheaval, the eighteenth century appeared as the epitome of elegance and a lost paradise that evoked a strong sense of nostalgia. After the Second World War, French couture, seeking legitimacy in order to establish itself on the international market, once again turned to the techniques and expertise developed in the eighteenth century by the luxury industry. The massive and widespread circulation of images through the press, cinema, and entertainment transformed this heritage into a visual code that was immediately embraced by popular culture. Gradually, eighteenth-century fashion became more than just a historical reference but a distinct aesthetic in its own right. This exhibition offers a reflection on how fashion and collective memory shape, transform, and project this past, creating a still-vibrant aesthetic, cultural, and symbolic narrative. Constantly reinvented and idealized, the eighteenth century resonates with the aspirations of each new epoch. Today, this aesthetic flirts with the world of the kitsch, camp, and queer.

Bringing together over seventy silhouettes, accompanied by fashion accessories, textiles, graphic arts, and photographs, the exhibition highlights masterpieces like Queen Marie Antoinette’s corset. Visitors can compare the silhouettes of the eighteenth-century with those of later centuries, through a selection of iconic contemporary pieces from the collections of Chanel, Christian Dior, Louis Vuitton, Christian Lacroix, Vivienne Westwood, Dries van Noten… Surveying three centuries of creation, the Palais Galliera examines how eighteenth-century fashion has been reinterpreted—between historical heritage, aesthetic fantasy, and creative freedom.

General curator
Émilie Hammen, director of the Palais Galliera

Commissariat scientifique
Pascale Gorguet-Ballesteros, Head of collections, Clothes from the 17th and 18th century and dolls, assisted by Alice Freudiger