What to Wear to Canada’s Best Museum Exhibitions
Three art shows to mention at your next dinner party, plus what to wear to each.
By: Harry Rosen Staff
The foundations of colour, composition, and material make up a shared language between art and fashion. Designers have long drawn on the work of great artists, from Mondrian’s geometric lines to Rothko’s contemplative colours, and Klein’s transcendent blue to Kusama’s exuberant polka dots. Art enriches our appreciation for history and beauty, but it also shapes how we dress — and helps us express who we are. So, an exhibition isn’t just a good way to spend a Sunday. It might inspire a fresh take on your personal style, if not a whole new wardrobe.
Canada’s museums host some extraordinary exhibitions, and some of the best are only here for a limited time. This season, three are worth planning a visit around. In Toronto, the Art Gallery of Ontario looks at more than a century of Black style, and the Image Centre is showing Richard Avedon’s portraits of aging. In Montreal, Chiharu Shiota has filled the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts with her thread installations.
Sunday Best: The Power & The Glory of Black Style at the AGO, Toronto, ON (Until February 28, 2027)
Black style has long influenced the way we dress. But too often, its impact is overlooked and underappreciated. Sunday Best at the Art Gallery of Ontario corrects the record with an exhibition celebrating the legacy and beauty of Black style since the 1880s.
The show brings together fashion, photography and multimedia works from across Canada, the Caribbean, the US, and the UK. Highlights include pieces from trailblazing designer Stephen Burrows, a gallery honouring André Leon Talley, a look at the style of Toronto soul icon Jackie Shane and a dramatic ballgown by Christopher John Rogers.
Together, they reveal how getting dressed has always been about more than looking good — it’s how we express identity and find community.
Traditionally, Sunday best meant your finest clothes for church. Today, the point isn’t formality. It’s intention.
To make a suit feel current, rethink what goes underneath. A fine-gauge knit in place of a shirt and tie keeps the tailoring sharp without the stiffness. We like a navy suit over a cream or charcoal merino turtleneck.
Prefer separates? Let texture do the dressing up. A patterned flannel or tweed sport jacket has more visual interest than a solid one, and pairs easily with wool trousers or dark jeans.
Either way, fit comes first. If the jacket sits cleanly at the shoulders, you’re already halfway there.
Richard Avedon Immortal at The Image Centre, Toronto, ON (Until December 5, 2026)
Aging is one of fashion’s great taboos. But it’s what fascinated Richard Avedon Immortal, the late and legendary fashion photographer whose work is the subject of Richard Avedon Immortal, a new exhibition at The Image Centre in Toronto. The show gathers nearly 100 of the photographer’s portraits, made between the early 1950s and 2004, all focused on how time changes a face.
Avedon’s archive is a who’s who of 20th-century movers and shakers, with portraits of everyone from writers Toni Morrison and Gabriel García Márquez to musicians Duke Ellington and Patti Smith. The most personal work, though, is a series of nine portraits of Avedon’s own father in his final years.
A great character, like singular style, comes into its own with age.
Take a cue from Avedon and choose pieces that get better with age. The idea is to invest in quality: well-made clothes only gain character with wear. Start with your outerwear.
A wool overcoat in navy, camel, or charcoal is the piece you’ll wear all winter long, so it’s worth investing in the best fabric and fit you can. Pair it with sturdy leather derbies, which develop a rich patina over time.
Underneath, a cashmere crewneck and wool trousers are the canvas that allows the statement pieces to be the focal point. When in doubt, choose the classic version of a piece. It’s the one you’ll still reach for in a decade.
Chiharu Shiota at MMFA in Montreal, QC (Until February 14, 2027)
Thread is about as humble as materials get. In Chiharu Shiota’s hands, it becomes monumental. The Soul Trembles at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts is the Osaka-born, Berlin-based artist’s largest solo exhibition to date, and Montreal is its first stop in North America.
The show spans more than 30 years of her career. Her signature installations of red, black and white thread, each woven by hand on site, are the main event, but don’t skip the sculpture, photography, performance videos and stage designs for dance, theatre and opera.
Shiota’s work is about memory and connection, and it reveals just how much a single colour or texture can say.
Take cues from Shiota’s tight colour palette and keep your outfit to just a few foundational colours: more than that, and your look starts unravelling.
Build a neutral base with a plain white T-shirt and navy flannel trousers. Top it off with an all-black coat made from a statement material (like leather or shearling) that grabs attention while staying tonal.
As is the case with all tonal outfits, texture plays an important role. Try wearing a ribbed turtleneck under a brushed-wool overcoat to add depth to an all-neutral look. The rule we always come back to: the quieter the base, the more any single detail can say. Finish with dark leather boots that ground the outfit without pulling focus.
Just as art lives beyond the museum walls, style doesn’t start in the store. Taste takes time to develop, and art and culture are some of the best teachers.
Whether you’re drawn to a striking colour, a bold shape or an unexpected texture, great art can change how you think about getting dressed.
Our expert Style Advisors can help you translate that inspiration into your wardrobe. in-store to get started.
The Art of Style
