It's something new and a multi-billion dollar industry that you may have never heard of:modest fashion. The Stedelijk Museum Schiedam is the first museum in the Netherlands to show this international fashion phenomenon with work by contemporary designers, combined with contemporary art. The Modest Fashion exhibition is fun and fashion, reflects the zeitgeist and is a feast for the eyes at the same time.
The creations of this vanguard are fashionable and covered. Women who do not want to participate in the 'aesthetics of the nude' wear it, religious or not. The mini skirt was once seen as a feminist statement, now women mainly want to be free and decide for themselves how they show themselves to the world:choose yourself! Modest fashion is therefore not about the question 'covered or not?', but about freedom of choice and creativity of women all over the world. The exhibition marks the 100th anniversary of women's suffrage in the Netherlands and celebrates the 100th anniversary of the first woman to be elected to the city council of Schiedam.
Fashion and art
Guest curators Rajae El Mouhandiz (singer, composer, maker of films and (music) theater and Alexandra van Dongen (freelance exhibition maker)) combined fashion items and works of art for Modest Fashion.
For the fashion selection, they asked designer Said Mahrouf as an expert. He selected fashion pieces for the exhibition with photos and videos from both major fashion brands and independent labels. The styles differ:from the fashion brand Bouguessa from Dubai, with a design in white and black that hints at minimalist art, to the French fashion house Chanel, which adds color again.
The guest curators chose art by international artists. Their work has themes such as femininity, the body and tradition. This is where visual art and fashion come together. From the performance art of Alicia Framis to photography by Aïda Muluneh, Newsha Tavakolian or the kaleidoscopic images of Meriem Bouderbala. The artists have built up a big name outside Europe, many reach their audiences via social media and through Modest Fashion they have the opportunity to show their work in a museum for the first time.
The exhibition will take place until 9 February 2020.
Municipal Museum Schiedam
Hoogstraat 112
3111 HL Schiedam
