What to wear to the biggest exhibitions of 2024

A handy sartorial guide to see you through a bumper year of London art shows.

Whether you’re a grown-up goth, clashing queen or Gibson-esque girlie, here’s how to style up for the hottest exhibition tickets in town.

Yoko Ono: Music of the Mind
Tate Modern
[15 February – 1 September 2024]

In 1964 Yoko Ono invited audiences to hack away at her clothing with scissors, in a performance artwork called Cut Piece. This will be amongst the works on show in this career-spanning exhibition. In honour, look to the Japanese and Belgian designers who have deconstructed clothing over the years, from Rei Kawakubo to Martin Margiela, and nod to Ono’s own iconic style with mini skirts, wide brimmed hats and statement sunglasses.

Sargent and Fashion
Tate Britain
[22 February – 7 July 2024]

If there was ever a time to dig into those John Galliano for Dior archives then it’s now. Gilded age fashion was all about sumptuous silks, frothy chiffon and bare décolletage, and Sargent immortalised the stylish society women of the era in exquisite oils. Read Edith Wharton and revisit some 2022 Met Gala looks for further inspiration.

Francesca Woodman and Julia Margaret Cameron: Portraits to Dream In
National Portrait Gallery
[21 March – 16 June 2024]

Haunted fairy princess, ghostly girl with gorgeous gorgeous hair, Miss Havisham in Rodarte. Style icons are Florence Welch, Susie Cave, Ophelia, Tess of the D’Urbevilles. Flowing tresses and floaty fabrics, the kind of face that doesn’t know what an email is, a hint of blush, bucolic innocence, terrifying and mercurial. Flowers on the edge of decay, possible hints of velvet, ideally barefoot but a sturdy leather hobnail will do.

Vanessa Bell: A Pioneer of Modern Art
Courtauld Gallery
[25 May – 6 October 2024]

In homage to Vanessa Bell’s position as a co-director of the Omega Workshops, layer prints on prints with bohemian insouciance. The Bloomsbury painter may have been unmoved by fashion, but she was a master of decoration, so accessorise accordingly, and don’t be too precious about matching. Be bold, be clashing, be … Lucinda Chambers.

Zanele Muholi
Tate Modern
[6 June 2024 – 26 January 2025]

Stark monochrome, hair with height and if that’s not possible then layer up as many hats as you can. Think texture, contrast and exciting shapes.

Ernest Cole: House of Bondage
The Photographer’s Gallery
[21 June – 22 September 2024]

We almost ran with the bondage theme and presented a mood board of latex and chains, but, really, we’d never be that shallow. Instead, use this an opportunity to celebrate some of the most exciting black designers working in fashion today.

Barbie: The Exhibition
The Design Museum
[5 July 2024 — 23 February 2025]

If you’re going to do something, you might as well do it properly. Take a cue from Margot Robbie on her press tour and lean in to the power of pink, with a whiff of 1960s vintage. And you can forget about getting the tube to the show – it’s roller blades, pink Cadillac, or you might as well stay at home.

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