A little exhibition at the Costume Institute is opening soon (about someone named Charles James?). Here are others worth a gander…

Black Atlantic
Musée du Quai Branly, Paris
March 4 – May 18, 2014
– In 1934, the shipping heiress and avowed avant-gardist Nancy Cunard published Negro Anthology — a radical 858-page book tracing the fragmented history of African-Americans, African-Europeans and Africans — in a scathing indictment of colonization and racism. This exhibition reexamines the revolutionary book and its lasting influence on politics, art, and pop culture.

Robert Mapplethorpe: Both Left Bank and Right
Grand Palais, Paris
March 26 – July 13, 2014
– The 200 or so photographs in this retrospective of Robert Mapplethorpe represent two powerful forces at work in his oeuvre, his pursuit of explicit homoerotic subject matter and his quest for classical perfection. Outside influences are also given their due, including his close relationship with Patti Smith and the heady days 70s New York.

Bailey’s Stardust
National Portrait Gallery, London
February 6 – June 1, 2014
– Over 250 of David Bailey’s photographs, personally selected by the artist and spanning 50 years, are arranged thematically across a range of subjects: actors, artists, writers, musicians, filmmakers. An architect of the 60s mod look, Bailey has also included his portraits of supermodels past and present, from Jean Shrimpton to Kate Moss. 

The Glamour of Italian Fashion 1945-2014
Victoria and Albert, London
April 5 – July 27, 2014
– Nowadays, Italian fashion could use a boost, and V&A is happy to provide it. A comprehensive survey at the London museum pays homage to the golden decades of the hot-blooded peninsula, from its lean post-war years through the subsequent eras of Pucci, Gucci, Armani, Valentino, and Prada, and on to the present-day age of outsourcing.

Halston and Warhol: Silver and Suede
Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh
May 18 – August 24, 2014
– To kick off The Warhol’s 20th anniversary, Silver and Suede examines the interwoven lives and practices of two great American friends and icons, integrating photos, dresses, paintings, and two of the artists’ materials of choice. Organized by Halston’s niece, Lesley Frowick.

Papier Glacé: A Century of Photography at Condé Nast
Musée Galliera, Paris
March 1- May 25, 2014
– Mining its own pages, publishing house Condé Nast culls the work of more than 80 fashion photographers, from Richard Avedon and Cecil Beaton to Inez & Vinoodh and Mert & Marcus, who made the likes of Vogue and Vanity Fair what they are today.