At the de Young, January 20 through August 11, 2024
In San Francisco—a city with a vibrant history of embracing radical clothing styles—fashion mavericks have perennially supported boundary-pushing designers. The term avant-garde is often synonymous with innovative, unusual, and experimental ideas. In fashion, it denotes garments or objects that redefine artistic convention, utilize new tools and techniques, and question the very nature of what constitutes clothing.

Explore the history of San Francisco through fashion. Featuring one of the most iconic collections of 20th- and 21st-century women’s clothing in the United States, this exhibition includes 100 collection highlights, along with local loans of high fashion and haute couture. The first major presentation of our costume collection in over 35 years, it showcases designs from French couturiers, Japanese avant-garde designers, and other pillars of the fashion industry, including Christian Dior, Alexander McQueen, Christopher John Rogers, Comme des Garçons, and Rodarte. The designs on view, many never shown before, reflect San Francisco’s long-standing tradition of self-expression through fashion.

AR Experience
Have you ever wished you could try on the fashions you see in museum exhibitions? Well, now you can. Snapchat Augmented Reality Mirrors let you try on three iconic looks from the de Young collection. The outfits, featured in Fashioning San Francisco: A Century of Style, include a 1955 “Soirée de Paris” dress by Yves Saint Laurent, a 1985 lamé outfit by San Francisco–designer Kaisik Wong, and a 1987 velvet gown by Valentino.

Learn more and purchase tickets on the deYoung website

The de Young is located in Golden Gate Park
50 Hagiwara Tea Garden Drive, San Francisco
Tuesday through Sunday from 9:30 AM to 5:15 PM.