Anna Wintour says Vogue exhibition exploring history of fashion evokes nostalgia

Dame Anna Wintour said it has been “quite nostalgic” to recreate celebrated fashion catwalk shows for a new immersive exhibition in London.

Dame Anna, who became editor-in-chief of American Vogue in 1988, said working on Vogue: Inventing The Runway over the last 18 months had been “overwhelming”, but that it was “remarkable” to see it come together.

Narrated by two-time Academy Award winning actress Cate Blanchett, the show uses Vogue’s archive dating back to its first publication in 1892 and brings together leading voices in the industry to explore the history of the catwalk.

Mark Guiducci, Vogue’s creative editorial director, told the PA news agency: “I’ve probably been to a dozen of the shows that are in this show, but it’s been amazing to work with the team on researching and recreating the shows that I had never been to, and to imagine what they were like.”

Dame Anna told PA: “And for me, obviously, I’ve been to many more (shows) than Mark, so it’s quite nostalgic.

“But it also makes one so proud of the creativity in the fashion world, and I hope that audiences will enjoy seeing the history of the fashion show and how it reflects our culture and changes in the world in a way that is quite extraordinary.

“From the ’50s right up until the present day, when the fashion show has become, in some cases, this extraordinary spectacle – having moved from a very small, elitist, private world where nobody was invited to the parties that they are today, when everybody is encouraged to come and to see and to watch it on a livestream.”

The show at Lightroom in London’s King’s Cross offers first-hand testimony revealing how the fashion show became the ultimate statement of a designer’s vision.

The exhibition features more than 60 designers, including Alexander McQueen, Burberry, Chanel, Dolce & Gabbana, Givenchy, Louis Vuitton, Prada, Stella McCartney, and Vivienne Westwood.

The exhibition uses a series of chapters to bring to life locations and eras, taking the audience inside the fashion show.

“Fashion, whether it’s on the runway or in the street, is always a reflection of what’s happening in the world at large and so culture at large,” Mr Guiducci added.

It comes after Oscar-winning actor Tom Hanks narrated an experience called The Moonwalkers: A Journey With Tom Hanks – which tells of missions to the Moon – at Lightroom.

Before that, David Hockney: Bigger & Closer (Not Smaller & Further Away) was launched at the four-storey venue in 2023.