"VOGUE: Inventing the Runway": A Groundbreaking Immersive Exhibition at Factory International

This winter, the worlds of high fashion, history, and cutting-edge technology collide as Factory International unveils VOGUE: Inventing the Runway, an ambitious new production by LIGHTROOM, running from 17 December 2025 to 10 January 2026. As part of the venue’s bold artistic programme, the exhibition invites audiences to reimagine the catwalk not just as a platform for models and clothes, but as a cultural force that has shaped style, gender, power and identity across decades.

Produced in collaboration with British Vogue and narrated by the magazine’s archival voice, Inventing the Runway offers a time-travelling, multisensory journey through fashion's most iconic moments. It’s less a traditional exhibition than a cinematic spectacle, blending moving image, sound design, photography and scenography into one continuous immersive experience. Think of it as stepping inside the pages of Vogue, with stories told through towering projections, pulsating audio, and a pace that mirrors the rhythm of a show in full swing.

The LIGHTROOM team renowned for their genre-defying visual productions bring their signature style to Factory International’s massive space in Manchester. From the pioneering salons of the early 20th century to the theatrical super-shows of the 1990s and the digital catwalks of today, the production tracks the runway’s evolution, its controversies, and its enduring mystique. It also looks beyond the fashion capitals to spotlight trailblazers from across the globe, challenging Eurocentric narratives and giving space to the communities often overlooked in the fashion mainstream.

The exhibition pays particular homage to fashion’s role in social change highlighting how designers, models, and editors have used the runway to make statements about race, gender, sexuality, and climate justice. Expect to see powerful moments from designers such as Alexander McQueen, Vivienne Westwood, Virgil Abloh, and Grace Wales Bonner woven into the storytelling, alongside never-before-seen archive footage from the Vogue vaults.