Yifu Liu: À la mode: The Rise of Fashion Press in Eighteenth-Century France

On June 3, 2026, in the Stephen A. Schwarzman Auditorium at The Frick Collection, Yifu Liu presented his lecture, À la mode: The Rise of Fashion Press in Eighteenth-Century France.

Offered in conjunction with the exhibition Ruffles & Ribbons: Fashion Plates from the Time of Marie Antoinette, this lecture took a closer look at Gallerie des modes et costumes français (1778–87), the most influential series of printed fashion illustrations in late eighteenth-century France.

As Anne L. Poulet Curatorial Fellow and organizer of the exhibition, Liu shared the rich historical and cultural contexts surrounding these images, as well as the fashions they depict. Tracing the evolution of fashion prints through the eighteenth century, he highlighted the innovations of Gallerie des modes and consider how it paved the way for modern fashion publications like Vogue and Harper’s Bazaar.