The historic exhibition dedicated to FENDI and Karl Lagerfeld returns to the GNAMC in Rome after forty years

From July 10 to October 25, 2026 , the National Gallery of Modern and Contemporary Art in Rome will host *After. A Creative Journey. FENDI / Karl Lagerfeld 1985*, a reinterpretation of the famous exhibition that opened on October 5, 1985, at the museum. The exhibition celebrates the first twenty years of the collaboration between FENDI and Karl Lagerfeld, a creative partnership that continued until the designer’s passing in 2019. Sponsored by FENDI to mark the fashion house’s centennial, the exhibition was conceived by Maria Grazia Chiuri and curated by Maria Luisa Frisa. The opening took place on July 9, coinciding with the Fendi Couture fashion show, held in the GNAMC galleries dedicated to 20th-century art.

The current exhibition aims to recreate the 1985 exhibition as faithfully as possible, while taking place in different spaces within the same museum. The exhibition is designed to illustrate the various stages of creating a haute couture garment, from the initial inspiration through the design process to the final realization.

The narrative unfolds through the sections “Tavolette,” “Caleidoscopio,” “Matrici Progettuali,” “Teatro,” “Pettine,” “Video,” “Schizzi,” and “Computer,” following the original layout conceived by Karl Lagerfeld some forty years ago. The revival of this exhibition also represents an important opportunity to reinterpret the history of fashion and its relationship with the language of the museum. The curatorial approach aims to highlight the original objects and drawings through a contemporary reinterpretation, restoring, where possible, the historic exhibition structures and using reproductions from the archival collection only to replace elements that are no longer available.

The exhibition concludes with a selection from the extensive 1985 press coverage, offering insight into the evolution of fashion museology in Italy and how the dialogue between art and fashion has changed over the past decades.

“This exhibition is a piece of our country’s history and that of the National Gallery of Modern and Contemporary Art, which pioneered the inclusion of fashion, anticipating a multidisciplinary curatorial vision that is now further strengthened by the introduction of design into the museum,” says Director Renata Cristina Mazzantini. “Contemporary creativity, which is often rooted in design culture, tends to blur the boundaries between disciplines and thrives on cross-pollination. This exhibition celebrates the tradition of ‘beauty and fine craftsmanship,’ which together give rise to objects of extraordinary quality.”

The historic exhibition dedicated to FENDI and Karl Lagerfeld returns to the GNAMC in Rome after forty years

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