Fashions fit for museum exhibitions

Museum shows featuring Cardin, Dior and others inform us about style, couture and why we love to see creations from fashion houses. Here are some that are looking good.

New York City

The Metropolitan Museum’s “Heavenly Bodies” exhibition promises styles and designs inspired by what the museum calls the “Catholic imagination.” Religious patterns appear in early 21st century couture pieces such as a John Galliano gold-and-white fitted gown for Dior, which looks like a papal vestment. The exhibition will also feature items from the Sistine Chapel in Vatican City. The show will be on display at the Met Fifth Avenue and its sister location the Cloisters. Info: lat.ms/ met heavenly bodies

London

In 2004 cupboards and rooms in artist Frida Kahlo’s Blue House in Mexico City were opened after half a century. Now, clothing, accessories, jewelry, photographs and even one of her prosthetic legs will travel to London’s V&A. The show includes her paintings, such as “My Dress Hangs There” (1933) and “The Love Embrace” (1943), as well as items that show the connection between her clothes and her distinctive style. Info: June 16-Nov. 4; vam .ac.uk

Denver

The Colorado capital’s Art Museum will host a show that looks at 70 years of Christian Dior’s Paris fashion house. It starts with the style revolution after World War II and continues to modern day. The show features 150 dresses plus accessories, photographs, fashion drawings and runway videos that tell a chronological tale. Info: Nov. 19-March 3; lat.ms/denverdior

Atlanta

Pierre Cardin’s retrospective at SCAD Fash Museum of Fashion + Film underscores his futuristic styles of the 1960s. Case in point: his cocktail dresses with conical breasts circa 1966. The retrospective chronicles seven decades of his work. Info: Through Sept. 30, lat.ms/atlantacardin