This year’s Art Basel Miami Beach will feature the Lingerie Française Exhibition, presented by Lingerie Française, the Association for the Promotion of Corsetry Industries. Spanning more than a century of French lingerie design, the exhibition will be on view from Nov. 29 to Dec. 6 in public spaces throughout the Sagamore Hotel.
The show presents 100 emblematic pieces that trace the development of lingerie from the 1880s to today, highlighting key moments in fashion, refined craftsmanship, technological advances and shifting ideas of feminine propriety. Items come from the archival collections of eleven renowned French lingerie houses, including Chantelle, Barbara, Aubade, Empreinte, Implicite, Maison LeJaby, Simone Pérèle and Louisa Bracq.
Curated by fashion historian Catherine Ormen, the exhibition combines garments with contextual materials to create a rich narrative of the industry’s history. Visitors will find period advertising, documentary films and a holographic presentation by Gilles Berquet that illuminate the social, technical and aesthetic forces that shaped lingerie design over the last century.
Organized chronologically, the display allows viewers to follow evolutions in silhouette, material and construction techniques—from corsetry and structured underpinnings of the late 19th and early 20th centuries to the softer, body-conscious styles that emerged midcentury and the innovative fabrics and cuts of the contemporary era. The selection underscores how manufacturers balanced support and comfort with changing ideals of beauty and modesty.
In addition to historical pieces, the exhibition highlights moments of technical innovation—new fabrics, seam and support technologies, and mass-production methods—that helped make lingerie both more accessible and more functional. The archival selections also showcase the artistry involved in hand finishes, lace work and patternmaking, demonstrating why French lingerie has long been celebrated for its combination of utility and elegance.
Beyond the garments themselves, the exhibition places emphasis on the cultural context that shaped lingerie design: advertising campaigns, magazine editorial approaches and filmic representations that influenced public perception and consumption. These materials help explain how brands communicated ideals of femininity and how those messages evolved with social change.
Presented in the Sagamore Hotel’s public spaces, the Lingerie Française Exhibition is designed to be approachable for a broad audience—art and design lovers, fashion historians, industry professionals and the general public. By combining archival garments with multimedia elements, the exhibition offers an accessible, informative and visually compelling survey of French lingerie history.
Open Nov. 29–Dec. 6 during Art Basel Miami Beach, the exhibition provides a rare opportunity to see curated selections from multiple historic collections together in one place, offering insight into the ongoing dialogue between fashion innovation, craftsmanship and cultural norms that has shaped intimate apparel for more than a century.