In just one month, visitors will have until April 26, 2026 to discover “Costumes de lumière”, the second exhibition at the Museum of Fashion and Costume in Arles.
In July 2025, the Museum of Fashion and Costume opened its doors in a new cultural space in Arles under the auspices of Maison Fragonard. The museum attracted over 30,000 visitors between July 6, 2025 and January 5 of this year, during the first exhibition titled “Collections-Collection”.
Promising beginnings, but time flies, no time to dwell on numbers, a new chapter is turning again. A chapter shorter than the previous and the next, but just as captivating. From Friday, March 27 until April 26, the Museum of Fashion and Costume presents “Costumes de lumière”, marking the start of a series of six exhibitions (Arles, Grasse, Paris) for the centennial celebration of Maison Fragonard. This exhibition, known as the “dossier”, stemmed from a chance encounter between Clement Trouche, artistic director, and Alberto Perales, a collector of matador costumes, during the European Heritage Days 2025.
A passion passed down by his grandfather, an aficionado. Alberto Perales now owns around fifty pieces in his private collection stored in Madrid, some of which are displayed in Nîmes at the museum of Tauromachy Cultures. “We get along very well, I am very proud to share my feelings with the public, to pass on this heritage,” explains the Madrid resident.
Among his treasures is a matador costume from the late 18th century, made of silk, sequins, embroideries, fringes, tassels, and metallic thread and silver leaf trimmings. “An absolute masterpiece of 18th-century tauromachy fashion. The first time I saw it, my blood as a costume historian ran cold,” rewinds Clement Trouche. This jacket and vest converse with an aristocratic fashion silhouette from the Fragonard collection. The goal of this exhibition is not to narrate the bullfight, nor to take sides in a sensitive debate, but rather to focus on the costume of lights, exploring its influences, evolution, craftsmanship, symbolism, and depiction from the 18th to the 19th century. A garment that, like the Arles costume, “requires an individual to have a different attitude.”
Plunged into darkness, visitors discover these intriguing, fascinating garments placed under “a carefully crafted light to make them stand out like jewels in this environment,” clarifies the artistic director. The references are numerous, tracing the history of the costume of lights in the arena and on stage, including the creation of a costume from the opera Carmen made by Pierre-Emmanuel Rousseau for the character Escamillo, in collaboration with the Estonian National Opera.
One of the most surprising scenographies pays homage to Édouard Manet’s work, “The Dead Toreador. “And then,” adds Clement Trouche, “we had fun imagining a possible sequel to Carmen with this tragic scene. But above all, it is a tribute to the drama that surrounds the figure of the matador, whether on stage or in the arena.” The capes produced by the Arles bullfighting school serve as a bridge between the museum and the students, encouraging the latter to cross its threshold.
From the arena to the stage, and even on the runways. The costume of lights has also found its place in haute couture. Evidence of this can be seen in the pieces entrusted by the Yves Saint Laurent museum. The French couturier gave the matador a bit of space in his Fall-Winter 1979 fashion show, associating him with women, giving him an elusive, even androgynous, look. Here, the displayed ensemble is juxtaposed with another, the costume worn by Marco Perez during the Goyesque in 2025.
Of course – and this partly responds to almost daily requests since the opening of the Museum of Fashion and Costume – a showcase is dedicated to the Arles couturier, Christian Lacroix, who has made costumes of lights one of the most frequent inspirations in his repertoire. Since 1990, with the presentation of Sangre de toro at the Fall-Winter fashion show, three years after the opening of his fashion house.
“He borrows from bullfighting the color palette and characteristic patterns that he never stops recontextualizing in unique pieces,” reads the press release. Aside from fashion shows, Christian Lacroix has also had the opportunity to create costumes of lights, in 2017 for example, fulfilling a commission from Juan Bautista for a solo against 6 in the Nîmes arena; and to reinterpret traditional costume elements for the Queen of Arles, Nathalie Chay, in 2008. All of these exceptional pieces are showcased in the Museum of Fashion and Costume, deserving a close look to appreciate the details, finesse, patterns, materials, and more.
The next exhibition titled “Amazons! Horsewomen and fashion icons” will be presented from May 22 to September 20 at the Museum of Fashion and Costume in Arles.
