Italy’s Most Iconic Fashion Houses Arrive in This U.S. City
Fashion enthusiasts won’t need to jet off to Paris, Milan or New York City to see fashion icons up close this season. Just head to The CLE.
The Cleveland Museum of Art just debuted Renaissance to Runway: The Enduring Italian Houses (now through Feb. 1, 2026)—a major exhibition celebrating the timeless artistry and influence of Italian fashion for five centuries.
Renaissance to Runway will feature more than 100 garments and accessories from Versace and Valentino to Ferragamo and Capucci, exploring how Italy’s houses of style have shaped fashion. Highlights include pieces like Zendaya’s 2018 Met Gala look and rarely seen items on loan from major Italian museums.
of Diesel. Photo: Filippo Fior/Vogue Runway/Condé Nast
“Many Italian fashion houses and designers from the past century use a methodology that conflates references from the early modern period to underpin a concept of Italian creative values,” writes Darnell-Jamal Lisby, Assistant Curator of Fashion.
“Emphasizing the historical period of analysis, we can home in on early modern artworks, including key examples from the CMA’s collection, to be in dialogue with the 20th- and 21st-century fashions in the exhibition.”
“For example, the exhibition presents a Max Mara floral-patterned coat dress that is made of a silk velvet fabric, in which the voided areas create a height juxtaposition to the raised velvet pile. This ensemble is presented alongside the CMA’s sumptuous Venetian procurator’s stole from the late 1500s, which has a double-pile velvet. The pairing illuminates Max Mara’s contemporary techniques that look to historical weaving composition in early modern Italy.”
Silk velvet devoré (burnout), wool, cotton. Courtesy of Max Mara. Photo: Daniele Oberrauch, Vogue/Condé Nast
This is the kind of exhibit you would expect to find in the world’s greatest cities and indicates that Cleveland is definitely having a renaissance of its own and growing as a cultural hotspot. Visitors will find chic hotels, like the newly opened Fidelity, cultural attractions like the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and Playhouse square, fantastic food and buzzy restaurants, and proximity to outdoor treasures like Cuyahoga Valley National Park. Cleveland is a fantastic destination for travelers looking for big experiences in a smaller city.
LGBTQ+ Scene in Cleveland
And because the CLE loves everyone, it has a vibrant and visible LGBTQ scene. Here are just a handful of spots to hit up over the Holidays and beyond:
- Cocktails Cleveland: This quaint Detroit-Shoreway neighborhood spot offers is a great place for karaoke and has some killer drink specials.
- The Hawk: This neighborhood bar is often referred to as the “Gay Cheers.”
- Leather Stallion: One of the oldest leather bars in the Midwest, this saloon now welcomes everyone – in or out of leather.
- Twist Social Club: Probably the most popular gay nightlife spot in the area, Twist is welcoming to all. Visit their always-happening front patio.
- Grog Shop: Each month at GlamGore, alternative drag takes center stage. Horror and glamour unite as everyone from drag monsters to beauty queens perform at this all-ages show.
- The 5 O’Clock Lounge: Combining burlesque, art and music, the punk rock showcase BLACK MASS takes over on the second saturday of every month.
- Nano Brew: Catch the perfectly named Brews and Babes show on weeknights where, weather-permitting, you might watch the performance on the outside patio.
- LGBT Community Center of Greater Cleveland: With a mission to enrich the lives of diverse LGBTQ+ community, the LGBT Community Center hosts a wide range of events from craft and game nights to concerts that feature queer artists.
