Creative Japanese t-shirt brand UNIQLO presents the 5th anniversary of their UT Grand Prix - the true Olympics of t-shirt design. Up-and-coming t-shirt creators from all over the globe will battle it out in this international competition for a grand prize of 3 million JPY (almost 18,000€!). Winners of the first and second rounds will be chosen from an expected 10,000 entries and will be showcased on the internet, while the final stage of the competition will see the awarding of the top prize by high-profile judges (including Kashiwa Sato and Yayoi Kusama). Twenty more designs will then be produced and sold as UNIQLO t-shirts at the company's flagship stores in New York, Paris, London, Hong Kong, China and of course Japan. With such a fantastic prize at stake and with the competition open to everyone, it's time to get inspired on the t-shirt front. Sign up now at UNIQLO's website. TM

From his extraordinary photojournalistic documentation of American civil rights campaigners in the 1960s to his conceptual transformation of Parisian fashion houses in the 1980s, it is no understatement to describe the career of Richard Avedon as epic. This retrospective exhibition, organised by the Louisiana Museum in Humlebaek in association with the Richard Avedon Foundation, surveys the fascinating career of this captivating photographer from his debuts in 1946 un until his death in 2004. The exhibit compiles some of Avedon's most celebrated work, including collections recording the Vietnam War, the fall of the Berlin Wall, and a series dedicated to his dying father. Perhaps most poignant is his sequence of 700 portraits of lower and middle-class families in the western United States - an emotional intense and wholly profound mediation on the mythology of the American West. TM

Audrey Hepburn, Rita Hayworth, Elizabeth Taylor and Jackie Kennedy are just a few of the personalities who chose to don themselves with the creations of Valentino Garavani over the last half century. Without a doubt, this Italian fashion marvel has left an indelible mark on the style legacy of the 20th century, and continues to do so in this unique retrospective exhibition. Coming just five months after his grand farewell to Paris, ‘Valentino - Thémes et Variations' celebrates 48 years of fashion history. Charting Valentino's illustrious career from the opening of his first Salon in Rome in 1959 through his receiving a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2006, the exhibition showcases some 200 of his most inspired creations. Elegant, sophisticated, modern and classic, this representative compilation of a life's work is a feast for the eyes for any fashion enthusiast. TM

For this exhibition of caftans, jewellery and embroidery, Yves Saint Laurent pays tribute to Morrocco, his second homeland, where the couturier and Pierre Bergé had a home, and would go to evacuate the stress of Paris, and party in a particularly 70s way (enough said). The exhibition explores Saint-Laurent's culture muse via the traditional craft of Moroccan dress, with extravagant caftans and jewelry from the 1800s to the end of the 20th century. What's even more intriguing is that there's not even one YSL look in the exhibit, but real enthusiasts will be able to identify inspiration from the originals. MM

This is the year of Christian Lacroix. Everywhere we turn the theatrical prodigy is wowing us with his creations — from the 20th anniversary of his own house and a spectacular runway show, to booming capsule collections for La Redoute. Now, the fashion and textile museum has given the designer free reign to dig through their archives and select the couture pieces he finds most inspiring: some 400 gowns from the 18th century to the present day tell his private history of fashion. The pieces are organised into themes which highlight technical and graphic features, beginning with blacks and whites and moving to the kaleidoscope of colour and florals we associate with the vibrant couturier. NF