Simplicities

In the summer of 2026, the Fashion & Lace Museum invites you to discover the simplicity of clothing. Spanning more than two centuries of history, this new exhibition looks back at moments when clothing leaned towards simplicity, functionality, and naturalness. Often associated with luxury, glamour, and novelty, fashion is revealed here as a mirror of cultural and social change. A theme that, until now, has been little studied.

Simplicites begins at the end of the 18th century. The philosophy of the Enlightenment, along with medical and hygienist discourse, called for a profound reform of the way people dressed. A return to nature manifested itself in a rejection of corrective artifices, new cuts, breathable materials, and an aesthetic vocabulary inspired by Antiquity. The clothing ideal became a reflection of a new lifestyle combining comfort, freedom of the body, and closeness to nature.

The exhibition is divided into six chapters, each highlighting the different aspects of this simplicity. Drawn from history, the pieces shown in these thematic capsules reveal the continuity, resurgence, and paradoxes of this aesthetic. Discover this lesser-known side of fashion history.