Vitra Design Museum
Exhibition Overview 2025
The Shakers: A World in the Making
7 June to 28 September 2025
In summer 2025, the Vitra Design Museum will present a major exhibition exploring the American Shaker community and their unique design culture. Established in the eighteenth century, the Shakers were a free church community that embraced social equality, communal property, and pacifism, viewing labour and design as crucial expressions of their faith. The Shakers’ radically simple, functional objects have had a profound influence on modern design, inspiring generations of artists, architects, and designers up to the present day. Designed by Milan-based studio Formafantasma, the exhibition will showcase a wide range of Shaker furniture, architecture, tools, and commercial goods. Works by contemporary artists and designers, including Chris Halstrøm, Christien Meindertsma, and Kameelah Janan Rasheed, enter into dialogue with the historic exhibits, reflecting on the Shakers’ enduring relevance. Displayed throughout the show, these specially commissioned works will create moments of interaction and tension, inviting visitors to engage with one of the most compelling community experiments of the past centuries.
The exhibition is organised by the Vitra Design Museum, the Milwaukee Art Museum, and the Institute of Contemporary Art Philadelphia.
Catwalk!
25 October 2025 to 15 February 2026
Fashion shows are the magical moments in fashion industry – they are marketing machines and social events, deeply poetic and highly commercialized at the same time. Their images spread across the globe in real time, shaping our cultural memory. Following ever-changing concepts and narratives, they unite stage design, performance, clothing, light, and sound into a temporary Gesamtkunstwerk, a total work of art. The exhibition »Catwalk!« explores the fascinating evolution of the fashion show and offers a look behind the scenes: from its beginnings in couturiers’ salons around 1900 to the spectacular events of the twenty-first century; from haute couture to prêt-à-porter; from the era of supermodels to the celebration of diversity; from classic catwalk photography to the virtual fashion show. Through film and photo footage, original runway pieces, invitations, and stage props, the exhibition brings groundbreaking fashion shows back to life – including shows by Alexander McQueen, Balenciaga, Chanel, Comme des Garçons, Dior, Gucci, Helmut Lang, Hussein Chalayan, Martin Margiela, Prada, Yves Saint Laurent, and many more.