Fashion exhibitions at major museums are relatively rare because, as Museum of Fine Arts, Houston director Gary Tinterow explains, it's especially hard to make clothes on mannequins come alive. But after Lynn Wyatt saw a retrospective [https://deyoung.famsf.org/exhibitions/oscar-de-la-renta-retrospective-0] of the work of legendary designer Oscar de la Renta [http://www.vogue.co.uk/article/oscar-de-la-renta-biography]at the DeYoung Museum in San Francisco last year, she urged Tinterow to go see it for himself, with the hope that it would come to Houston. He did. And it has. The Glamour and Romance of Oscar de la Renta [https://www.mfah.org/exhibitions/glamour-romance-oscar-de-la-renta], at the MFAH through January 28, 2018, includes many of the looks that were in the San Francisco exhibition along with additional showstoppers only in Houston. Among the rare pieces on display are Amal Clooney's wedding gown — the last bridal gown de la Renta designed before his death in 2014 [http://houston.culturemap.com/news/fashion/10-20-14-a-favorite-of-first-ladies-and-houstons-social-set-oscar-de-la-renta-was-always-a-gentleman-1/#slide=0], along with contributions from the closets of famous Texans, Hollywood celebs, and pieces from the MFAH archives. The styles are featured in tableaus of artwork, antiques, and other decorative art pieces from the museum's extensive collection. Of the 70-plus pieces in the exhibition, which has been drawing mammoth crowds, here are 17 of our favorites. --- The first room of the exhibition is a tribute to the Spanish influence of de la Renta designs and showcases several "must-see" gowns. At 18, de la Renta left his native Dominican Republic to study art at The Academy of San Fernando in Madrid and secured an internship with Spain's greatest couturier, Cristóbal Balenciaga [http://www.cristobalbalenciagamuseoa.com/en/cristobal-balenciaga/biography/]. "Oscar was inspired by Spain all of his life," said André Leon Talley, who curated the exhibition. "You see all the great moments of Spain when he worked with Balenciaga; the memories of youth in bull rings and with the flamenco dancers."