From April 18 to September 8, 2019, the Amsterdam Museum will present Fashion Statements, an exhibition about fashion and identity past and present. The exhibition shows more than 75 historical costumes, each of which was used by its wearer to express themselves or convey a message. Six contemporary designers, including Karim Adduchi, Marga Weimans and Bas Kosters, take a contemporary look at the 75 masterpieces from the Amsterdam Museum's costume collection; what statements did people make with these clothes in the past and how do we view them today? They do this by displaying their own modern designs in addition to the historical clothing of the Amsterdam Museum, which are inspired by the fashion statements of the time.
Fashion shows who someone is and how someone wants the outside world to see them. With clothing you express a conviction, criticism of society or a vision of the world, or you show that you are different from others or part of a group. In the past, too, people made statements with clothing. For example, with sleek or voluminous contours, choice of fabric or certain colors, it was shown what status someone had, where he or she came from or how much he or she rebelled against the prevailing social norms and rules of conduct. This includes, for example, the ladies' dresses with broad hips in the eighteenth century. The wider, the more status. Or clothing around 1890, where the corsets were hung from the willows as a symbol of the new, more independent position of women. That people show through clothing how they identify themselves is therefore a phenomenon of all times.
The Fashion Statements exhibition brings together historical costumes and contemporary fashion, from streetwear to high-end fashion. More than 75 historical items of clothing and shoes from the early eighteenth century to the early twentieth century are on display from the rich costume collection of the Amsterdam Museum. With the garments it is explained which statement was made with them. Historical fashion is brought to the here and now by six contemporary fashion designers; Ninamounah, Art comes First, Patta, Karim Adduchi, Marga Weimans and Bas Kosters, give their personal vision of the historical clothing on display in a short documentary. In addition, the six designers are inspired by the historical costumes and they each show three outfits that convey a contemporary message. These modern fashion statements are presented alongside the historical garments. In this way, the modern designers enter into a dialogue with the historical costumes and shoes on display and establish a link between the past and present.
Fashion Statements can be seen from Thursday 18 April to Sunday 8 September in the Amsterdam Museum.
