HD Fashion’s Guide to Paris: The Final Cultural Highlights of 2026

Paris has a way of making art history feel unexpectedly present. Across the city's museums, familiar names are being seen in a new light, while contemporary voices challenge how we think about beauty, identity and the world around us. From Rafael Pavarotti's bold visual language and Irving Penn's unmistakable eye to Cézanne's enduring influence, Gustave Fayet's extraordinary collection and Mohammad Alfaraj's poetic universe, these exhibitions explore the many ways art shapes how we see and remember. At the Pinault Collection, Remember Me takes that idea further, bringing two centuries of photography into a conversation about memory, identity and the passage of time.

From the Musée des Arts Décoratifs and the Grand Palais to the Bourse de Commerce and Fondation Louis Vuitton, here are six exhibitions worth making time for in Paris.

1. RAFAEL PAVAROTTI: PHOTOGRAPHE 

Location: Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris
Dates: October 2, 2026 to May 2, 2027

Colour, identity and imagination take centre stage at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, where Brazilian photographer Rafael Pavarotti receives his first exhibition in France. Bringing together more than 200 prints, the show moves between fashion editorials, major campaigns and portraits of cultural figures including Rihanna and Beyoncé. Born in the Amazonian state of Pará, Pavarotti draws on his heritage to create images that challenge established ideas of beauty. Beyond their striking visual language, these photographs raise a larger question: who gets to be seen, celebrated and remembered? For Pavarotti, representation is not simply about visibility, but about expanding the possibilities of what future generations can imagine.

2. IRVING PENN: PENN & FASHION

Location: Maison Européenne de la Photographie (MEP), Paris
Dates: September 30, 2026 to January 17, 2027

What makes a fashion photograph timeless? At the Maison Européenne de la Photographie, Penn & Fashion revisits the remarkable career of Irving Penn, whose six-decade collaboration with Vogue helped redefine how fashion could be seen. From Dior and Balenciaga's postwar couture to his later work with Issey Miyake, Penn found drama in simplicity, allowing a silhouette, a gesture or a carefully considered detail to speak for itself. Spanning 1947 to 2008, the exhibition reveals how his mastery of composition, light and restraint transformed commercial photography into an art form.

3. REMEMBER ME: PINAULT COLLECTION

Location: Bourse de Commerce - Pinault Collection, Paris
Dates: October 7, 2026 to January 18, 2027

Why do some photographs stay with us long after the moment has passed? At the Bourse de Commerce, Remember Me explores the power of photography to preserve memories, shape identities and challenge the way we see the past. Bringing together more than 80 artists, the exhibition creates unexpected encounters between generations, from Man Ray and Richard Avedon to Cindy Sherman and Nan Goldin. Barbara Kruger's monumental installation The History of Tears takes over the museum's Rotunda, while an exceptional selection of photographs by Irving Penn offers a closer look at his singular vision. Rather than following a conventional history of photography, Remember Me invites us to reflect on what images reveal, what they leave unsaid and why we return to them.

4. CÉZANNE AND US: THE ARTIST WHO CHANGED HOW WE SEE

Location: Grand Palais, Paris
Dates: September 23, 2026 to January 17, 2027

More than a century later, Paul Cézanne continues to shape the way artists see the world. At the Grand Palais, Cézanne and Us explores this extraordinary legacy through nearly 180 works, placing his paintings in conversation with generations of artists, from Picasso and Matisse to Joan Mitchell and Bridget Riley. Rather than telling the familiar story of a master ahead of his time, the exhibition asks a more interesting question: how can one artist inspire so many different ways of seeing? The answer unfolds through unexpected connections, revealing a Cézanne who is constantly being rediscovered.

5. GUSTAVE FAYET: COLLECTOR AND ARTIST-DESIGNER

Location: Fondation Louis Vuitton, Paris
Dates: October 9, 2026 to March 8, 2027

Discover the visionary world of a true pioneer of modern art. This monumental exhibition unites over 700 works to reveal the extraordinary eye of Gustave Fayet. He was among the first to collect Van Gogh and a devoted patron of Gauguin. A particular highlight is Van Gogh's legendary Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear, returning to France for the first time since 1937. Beyond collecting, Fayet was a prolific designer who founded his own fashion house and collaborated with figures such as Jeanne Lanvin and Paul Poiret.

6. MOHAMMAD ALFARAJ: I'D RATHER BE A DRAGONFLY THAN A LION

Location: Fondation Louis Vuitton, Paris
Dates: October 9, 2026 to January 18, 2027

A striking shift to the contemporary awaits in Gallery 8. Saudi artist Mohammad Alfaraj presents his first institutional solo exhibition in France. Rooted in the oral traditions of the Al-Ahsa oasis, he transforms the space into a poetic universe of stop-motion animation, objects and drawings. His intimate fables explore the delicate relationship between humans and nature, finding meaning in the smallest forms of life. Presented in partnership with Mathaf in Doha, the exhibition also looks ahead to a major solo presentation planned for 2028.

Text: Editorial team
Courtesy: Musée des Arts Décoratifs / GrandPalaisRmn / Maison Européenne de la Photographie / Fondation Louis Vuitton / Bourse de Commerce