Denver Art Museum showcases timeless elegance and trailblazing style with Conversation Pieces: Stories from the Fashion Archives in Spring 2026

Conversation Pieces showcases intimate groupings of ensembles that tell enticing stories, revealing how style shapes society and influences the way we move through the world. Through striking juxtapositions that place pieces in dialogue with each other, visitors will discover connections between visionary designers, cultural movements and the evolution of iconic fashion houses. The exhibition also shines a spotlight on Denver’s own fashion legacy, from the city’s pioneering donors to the department stores that championed American design and helped define a distinctly modern aesthetic.

Featured treasures from the DAM’s permanent collection archives include a 1930s Jean Lanvin gown donated by Mrs. Gio Ponti; an afternoon dress dating to 1905-1910 worn by inventor Ms. May Wilfley; and a 1935 silk velvet evening wrap by Italian designer Maria Monaci Gallenga worn by Mrs. Thomas Patterson Campbell of The Rocky Mountain News family. Famed Hollywood designer Gilbert Adrian’s fashions are a collection feature, as he was both represented by Neusteter’s Department Store and included in runway exhibitions hosted by the Central City Critique Committee in Central City, Colorado in 1950.

These historic pieces will be displayed alongside recent acquisitions including a John Galliano dress from his Spring/Summer 1993 Olivia and Filibuster collection; an Alexander McQueen dress from the legendary designer’s final Plato Atlantis collection; and a lace ensemble by Karl Lagerfeld for Chloé worn by supermodel Kate Moss on the Fall/Winter 1993–94 runway.

In alignment with the museum’s commitment to national and international designers, the exhibition showcases the iconic suit created for Chinese American designer Vivienne Tam’s Mao collection; a debutante gown by Ann Lowe; and a playful Pool Ball Dress from Patrick Kelly’s Fall/Winter 1988 collection.

The exhibition also offers the first look at the transformative donation of avant-garde Japanese menswear. In 2025, the DAM received a bequest from New York financier Ricardo Zaragoza (1959–2023) of more than 200 high-end menswear fashions, with a focus on Yohji Yamamoto and Comme des Garçons. This gift established a new area of collecting for the Avenir Institute of Textile Arts and Fashion.

“Fashion has a long and storied history in Denver, particularly here at the Denver Art Museum,” said Christoph Heinrich, Frederick and Jan Mayer Director of the DAM. “Through Conversation Pieces, visitors will be able to explore the evolution of fashion through the museum's own collection We hope that a takeaway for visitors will be how fashion’s evolution doesn’t just happen on the edges of our country, but also in the middle of it.”

Fashion has long been woven into the museum’s story. The first women’s ensembles entered the collection in 1942, sparking decades of exhibitions that celebrated style as an art form. After a pause in the 1980s, the museum reignited its passion for fashion in 2012 with a momentous Yves Saint Laurent retrospective, renewing its commitment to preserving and showcasing this dynamic medium of artistic expression. Conversation Pieces honors that rich history while looking ahead, charting new directions and exploring fashion’s ever-evolving role in shaping culture and creativity.

“This exhibition offered the opportunity to dive into the museum’s fashion holdings. Using the perimeters of the permanent collection, a dialogue between various garments in the collection from different designers emerged,” explained Jill D’Alessandro, Director and Curator of the Avenir Institute of Textile Arts and Fashion. “It is in these smaller conversations that fashion design reveals itself to be an artistic discipline unto itself with the great designers acknowledging their shared language and history.”

Surprising juxtapositions in Conversation Pieces include an 1896 ballgown from the first haute couture fashion house in Paris, the House of Worth, with a voluminous gown from Rick Owens Spring/Summer 2020 collection, as well as two Madame Grés pleated Grecian designs with equally sculptural fashions by Turkish-born designers, Ece and Ayşe Ege, for their design house Dice Kayek. A dedicated platform to the classic “little black dress” starts with an iconic 1926 Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel shift dress and explores multiple variations on this classic with looks by Yves Saint Laurent, Ceil Chapman, James Galanos, and Yohji Yamamoto.

The Nancy Lake Benson Thread Studio, adjacent to the Textile Arts & Fashion galleries, will feature an installation of headpieces by Denver-based floral architects KaraKara Blooms. Visitors of all ages will be able to make their own accessories, fashion plate drawings and will have the opportunity to practice draping.

Fashion will take center stage at the DAM in 2026 with Conversation Pieces: Stories from the Fashion Archives, leading up to the blockbuster exhibition DIVA, in partnership with the V&A Museum in London, which will light up Denver as the exclusive U.S. venue in the fall.