Fashion Palaces 1880–1960

The exhibition, Fashion Palaces 1880-1960, in Amsterdam’s Historical Museum gives a fascinating insight to the emergence of the fashion industry from the end of the nineteenth century. The focus of the exhibition is on Amsterdam’s first fashion houses and department stores. The costumes displayed throughout give an idea of changing designs and tastes among Amsterdam’s elite.

Interviews with fashion designers, architects of the fashion palaces and customers (all fortunately subtitled in English) provide insights into the fashion industry of the time- which ranged from luxurious couture fashion and ready-to-wear clothing to shopping for items in department stores. Perhaps the most interesting discussions were about the massive surveys undertaken in which designers hoped to find a series of sizes that matched the sizes of most of the population. Surprisingly, this hadn’t previously been done and most of the clothes brought ready-to-wear or off the shelf had to be altered.

: 20 Jun 2007 10:32 |  Tags: Travel |  Comments (0) |  Report a problem