Palm Spring, CA (The Hollywood Times) 8/31/26 – What started out as an idea in 2005 has grown exponentially over the two decades since the first Palm Springs Modernism Week event took place a year later. A celebration of the grand style and vintage culture of midcentury and modern architecture, and its influence on interior design, furniture, fashion, art, landscape and, particularly here in Southern California, desert living, Modernism Week has become synonymous with Palm Springs.
And surely, somewhere in the mix, there must be room for Nancy Sinatra’s white knee-high boots.
Modernism Week – October returns October 15–18, 2026, with more than 50 activities celebrating midcentury architecture, art, design, landscape and vintage style. At the center of the weekend is the 12th Annual Palm Springs Modernism Show–Fall, October 17–18, preceded by its popular Opening Night Preview Party on Friday, October 16.
When most people hear the words Palm Springs, they instantly think of the city’s exceptional midcentury homes, dwellings where the emphasis is on strong rectangular and angular structures, horizontal and vertical planes, flat, slanted and butterfly roofs, and broad overhangs.
Earthy yet sleek, these homes feature expansive glass and stone walls, exposed wooden beams and interiors that transition almost effortlessly into outdoor living, often making the two feel like one and the same.
And, of course, there are those skyscraper palm trees that govern our desert sky.
Many of these homes were created by visionary architects who became pioneers of what we now call Desert Modernism: Albert Frey, William Krisel, E. Stewart Williams, William F. Cody, Donald Wexler, Richard Neutra and John Lautner, among others.
The Palm Springs Modernism Show–Fall kicks off Friday evening, October 16, with its Opening Night Party and Early Buying Preview Reception from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m.
So put on your best attire, or your most fashionable shorts. This is Palm Springs, after all, and October can still be hot. The events and festivities will undoubtedly be equally so.
Tickets for the Friday night preview are $95 in advance or $110 at the door. Guests get the first opportunity to shop directly from exhibitors while enjoying wine, libations and hors d’oeuvres before the show opens to the general public Saturday morning. Preview tickets also include return admission throughout the weekend.
The Fall Show brings together 40 national and international exhibitors featuring everything from iconic 20th-century furniture, art and lighting to contemporary design, home décor and outdoor furnishings. Presenting Sponsor Airstream Inland Empire will also feature two luxury Airstream trailers available for tours throughout the weekend.
Saturday hours are 10:00 a.m.–6:00 p.m., with Sunday hours from 10:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m. General admission is $30 and includes return entry for both days.
Rosemary Krieger, CEO of Dolphin Promotions, said, “The Palm Springs Modernism Show continues to be a premier gathering for designers and design lovers, offering a rare opportunity for people to connect with collectors and dealers from around the world.”
She added, “This fall, we are excited to welcome back our Presenting Sponsor Airstream Inland Empire and introduce new dealers to the community. The marriage of vintage 20th century items with 21st century designs offer a wide appeal to our supporters in the Coachella Valley, and we look forward to sharing this show with our attendees.”
Modernism Week’s mission is to celebrate and foster appreciation of midcentury architecture and design, while encouraging education, preservation and sustainable modern living throughout the greater Palm Springs area. A portion of ticket proceeds benefits Modernism Week, a nonprofit organization, as well as local preservation, neighborhood and community groups.
The organization has also established scholarship programs supporting students pursuing studies in architecture, design and related fields, helping nurture the next generation of talent while preserving an extraordinary architectural legacy.
Midcentury modern design began falling out of favor in America during the late 1960s and early 1970s, after roughly three decades of remarkable influence. Public taste began moving away from the simplicity, clean lines and functional lifestyle associated with modernism, instead embracing more lavish and heterogeneous styles.
Fortunately for those of us who love it, that pendulum eventually swung back.
By the late 1990s, midcentury design was experiencing an extraordinary resurgence, rekindling interest in a movement whose American roots had been profoundly influenced by the years following World War II.
Millions of servicemen and women returned home. Families reunited. New romances began. The baby boom followed, along with an enormous demand for affordable new housing.
The need for homes that could be built efficiently encouraged the widespread use of economical and increasingly innovative materials such as aluminum, plastics, fiberglass and plywood.
After years of war, tragedy, loss and heartache, people wanted something new.
They wanted light.
They wanted openness.
They wanted room to breathe and raise their families.
Another powerful influence came from Europe.
Extremely talented architects and designers associated with Germany’s Bauhaus movement came to the United States as political conditions in Europe became increasingly dangerous.
Among them were Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, associated with the famed Barcelona Chair; Walter Gropius, founder of the Bauhaus school; and Marcel Breuer, designer of the Wassily Chair.
Along with enormously influential figures such as Le Corbusier, whose now-iconic seating designs were created in collaboration with Charlotte Perriand and Pierre Jeanneret, these modernists would have a titanic influence on architecture and furniture design throughout the 20th century.
And I will confess to being more than an admirer.
I own sets of all three chairs.
I don’t even sit in them myself.
I look at them for what I believe they are:
Art.
Modernism Week, together with organizations such as the Palm Springs Preservation Foundation, and the many architects, designers, historians, collectors, preservationists and devoted enthusiasts who support the movement, helps ensure that midcentury modern design remains very much alive.
Through annual events, educational programs, preservation efforts, charitable initiatives and similar programs taking place across the United States and Europe—where many of modernism’s design principles first took root—the legacy of the great architects and designers of the era continues to be celebrated, studied and protected for future generations.
And perhaps that is why Modernism Week feels so completely at home in Palm Springs.
This city doesn’t merely display midcentury architecture.
We live in it.
I hope you will join the many residents of Palm Springs, along with visitors coming from throughout the United States and around the world, for Modernism Week – October, October 15–18.
Mingle. Make new friends and see old ones. Laugh. Shop. Learn. Look around in awe at what these extraordinary architects and designers created, and appreciate the tremendous time, passion and hard work of those who continue to preserve it and present it to us today.
Because for four wonderful days in October, Palm Springs once again reminds the world why all things midcentury modern feel so perfectly at home here.
For tickets and the complete October schedule, visit Modernism Week’s official website.
