Grand Palais in the context of "Anish Kapoor"

The Salon d'Automne (French: [salɔ̃ dotɔn]; English: Autumn Salon), or Société du Salon d'automne, is an art exhibition held annually in Paris. Since 2011, it is held on the Champs-Élysées, between the Grand Palais and the Petit Palais, in mid-October. The first Salon d'Automne was created in 1903 by Frantz Jourdain, with Hector Guimard, George Desvallières, Eugène Carrière, Félix Vallotton, Édouard Vuillard, Eugène Chigot and Maison Jansen.

Perceived as a reaction against the conservative policies of the official Paris Salon, this massive exhibition almost immediately became the showpiece of developments and innovations in 20th-century painting, drawing, sculpture, engraving, architecture and decorative arts. During the Salon's early years, established artists such as Pierre-Auguste Renoir threw their support behind the new exhibition and even Auguste Rodin displayed several works. Since its inception, works by artists such as Paul Cézanne, Henri Matisse, Paul Gauguin, Georges Rouault, André Derain, Albert Marquet, Jean Metzinger, Albert Gleizes and Marcel Duchamp have been shown. In addition to the 1903 inaugural exhibition, three other dates remain historically significant for the Salon d'Automne: 1905 bore witness to the birth of Fauvism; 1910 witnessed the launch of Cubism; and 1912 resulted in a xenophobic and anti-modernist quarrel in the National Assembly (France).

The International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts (French: Exposition internationale des arts décoratifs et industriels modernes) was a specialized exhibition held in Paris, France, from April 29 (the day after it was inaugurated in a private ceremony by the President of France) to November 8, 1925 (Originally the event was scheduled to end on October 25, but since it was visited by over 16 million people by the end of October, it was extended for two more weeks). It was designed by the French government to highlight the new modern style of architecture, interior decoration, furniture, glass, jewelry and other decorative arts in Europe and throughout the world. Many ideas of the international avant-garde in the fields of architecture and applied arts were presented for the first time at the exposition. The event took place between the esplanade of Les Invalides and the entrances of the Grand Palais and Petit Palais, and on both banks of the Seine. There were 15,000 exhibitors from twenty countries, and it was visited by over sixteen million people during its six-month run. The modern style presented at the exposition later became known as "Art Deco", after the exposition's name.

Paris Fashion Week (French: Semaine de la mode de Paris, commonly [la] Fashion Week) is a series of designer presentations held semi-annually in Paris, France, with spring/summer and autumn/winter events held each year. Dates are determined by the Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode. Paris Fashion Week is held at venues throughout the city. It is one of the "Big Four" fashion weeks alongside New York, Milan, and London.

In addition to ready-to-wear shows, there are men's and haute couture shows; these are held semiannually for the spring/summer and autumn/winter seasons. The haute couture collections are always presented and exhibited before the ready-to-wear collections, with there being a total of a little over 100 collections each season. Also, every year, famous brands like Dior, Chanel, Louis Vuitton, Kenzo, Givenchy, and Céline host their shows in historical places such as the Carrousel du Louvre and the Grand Palais.

The Palais de l'Industrie (French pronunciation: [palɛ də lɛ̃dystʁi]; Palace of Industry) was an exhibition hall located in Paris between the Seine River and the Champs-Élysées, which was erected for the Paris World Fair in 1855. This was the last of several buildings with the same name erected on the same site. The first Palais de l'Industrie was built in 1839 and was replaced for subsequent exhibitions in 1844 and 1849. The 1855 building was mainly designed by the architect Jean-Marie-Victor Viel and the engineer Alexis Barrault. It was demolished in 1897 to make way for the Grand Palais of the World Fair in 1900.

Emperor Napoleon III wished the World's Fair of 1855, which followed London's Great Exhibition by four years, to prove the superiority of the French by surpassing the British fair in every way. In particular, he desired a spectacular exhibition hall to rival The Crystal Palace. A competition held in 1852 was won by a plan by architect Jean-Marie-Victor Viel and engineer Desjardin, which combined the traditional use of masonry with that of cast iron. Due to cost constraints, however, the plans had to be reworked, for which the engineer Alexis Barrault is credited. In the final design, masonry was used only for the exterior walls, which were to be one metre thick and eighteen metres high. However, these massive walls were barely able to support the weight of the projecting cornice, and had to be reinforced with cast iron columns and beams.