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Florence’ Fashion Museums

Discover Florence’s four main fashion museums, plus an extra treasure.

Florence and fashion are closely tied together, linked by the common threads of shared history and culture and marked by illustrious figures and singular elegance.  

Florence gave life to the renowned fashion event Pitti Uomo in 1952, not to mention the countless world-famous designers that developed their brands in the Tuscan capital.
Whether you’re a lover of style or simply curious about fashion, Florence offers a remarkable selection of museums for you to explore.  


Museum of Costume and Fashion

What better place to begin your fashion-filled journey than the birthplace of Pitti Uomo?
Florence’s royal palace, Pitti Palace, is home to the city’s costume museum, a truly breathtaking space that recounts the history of fashion. The museum vaunts over 6,000 pieces of courtly and gala attire, including high-fashion pieces, ready-to-wear clothing, uniforms and theater costumes.
These noble halls give visitors the chance to admire works by the most esteemed designers of the 20th century, including Armani, Missoni, Valentino, Versace and Saint Laurent.

Piazza Dei Pitti, 1


Salvatore Ferragamo Museum

Speaking of world-famous designers, don’t miss the Ferragamo Museum, an incredible collection narrating the history of one of most important Italian high-fashion brands in the world. The museum dates to 1995; it began as an initiative by the Ferragamo family to showcase Salvatore Ferragamo’s creations to the public.
The museum is especially dedicated to addressing the designer’s central role in the history of footwear and his overall significance in international fashion. Among the museum’s many marvels, you’ll find shoes made for Hollywood’s biggest stars, such as Marilyn Monroe, Greta Garbo and Audrey Hepburn.

Palazzo Spini Feroni, Piazza di Santa Trinita, 5/R.



Gucci Garden

The former Museo Gucci is now the Gucci Garden: an innovative, conceptual space that pays tribute to the Gucci brand.
This two-story gallery space is divided thematically via a careful selection of brand-name items dating to Gucci’s Florentine origins; these are flanked by more recent objects, including memorabilia and contemporary art. In addition to the spectacular spaces, you’ll find the restaurant Gucci Osteria (run by Massimo Bottura) and an exclusive boutique housing one-of-a-kind pieces. 

Piazza della Signoria, 10
 


Museo Capucci

The Roberto Capucci Foundation Museum, located inside the splendid Villa Bardini, offers rotating exhibitions of the designer’s haute couture creations, sculpture dresses, illustrations, drawings, sketchbooks, press articles and the foundation’s photographic collection now available to the city of Florence.
Certainly out of the ordinary, the museum presents the creativity and life experience of "the best creator of Italian fashion”, as defined by Christian Dior. 

Villa Bardini, Costa S. Giorgio, 2-4, Firenze.


Prato Textile Museum

This kid-friendly and fascinating museum was built inside the former Fabbrica Campolmi, a monumental example of industrial urban archeology.
The museum offers a number of educational spaces dedicated to explaining the origins and characteristics of various fabrics, including their craftsmanship.
The museum also hosts major exhibitions that focus on both the history of textiles and the evolution of fashion from ancient to modern times.
Vaunting over 3,500 square meters of exhibition space, the Prato Textile Museum is one of the most important European institutions devoted to the promotion of textiles. 

Via Puccetti, 3, Prato.


Credits photo header: Uffizi Galleries.