Out of Fashion

In 2017, the Centraal Museum is pulling out all the stops with a new fashion exhibition. For the first time, more than 100 highlights from its own fashion collection are taking centre stage. Visitors will be immersed in a world of 18th-century gowns, lavish leg-of-mutton sleeves and contemporary experimental menswear. Who creates the design, and who wears it? How are these remarkable designs preserved, and when is a design considered ‘dead’? Find out in the exhibition Out of Fashion.

100 years of collecting: time to celebrate

In 2017, the Centraal Museum celebrates the fact that 100 years ago, the world’s first paid fashion curator was appointed in Utrecht—a remarkable milestone. Jonkvrouw Carla de Jonge began her career as the museum collection’s archivist, but soon created a permanent costume display and quickly expanded the collection considerably. Over the past century, the focus of the museum’s collecting policy has changed significantly: from expanding the historical costume collection to emphasizing conceptual and contemporary fashion from the Netherlands and abroad.

Fashion in four themes

Uit de Mode showcases the richness and diversity of the collection, but above all that of fashion itself. The present and the past are brought into dialogue in a thematic four-part presentation focusing on the maker, the wearer, the conservator and the visionary. Each of the four large exhibition galleries highlights one of these perspectives. Uit de Mode explores the sources of inspiration for contemporary and other designers, the reasons for acquiring a garment, and who wore what. Highlights include a ‘Live Science Programme’, featuring live conservation work in the gallery, and a rotating platform introducing visitors to the latest generation of fashion talent. The first edition is a collaboration with Future Generation by Amsterdam FashionWeek. This will be followed by exhibitions by Liselore Frowijn and Das Leben am Haverkamp.

Discover the stories behind the icons and the collection

Through its Live Science Programme, the Centraal Museum offers a behind-the-scenes look at the conservation studio. Three days a week, textile conservators work in the exhibition, conserving various costumes from the fashion collection. This allows visitors to see an expert at work up close and ask questions. In addition, the Centraal Museum and Modemuze are organising four ‘Meet-ups’ as an in-depth programme accompanying the exhibition. Each Meet-up focuses on one of the exhibition’s four themes: the maker, the wearer, the conservator and the visionary. The best festival outfits will be scouted at the Lowlands festival. Afterwards, the winning outfit will be added to the exhibition.

Meet-up #1: fashion makers

Meetup #2: carriers out of fashion

Meetup #3: Fashion Visionaries

Meet-up #4: Fashion conservators

Mannequin workshop

Most of the garments in the exhibition are displayed on mannequins. Dressing these mannequins is known as ‘mannequinage’ and is a specialised and often time-consuming task. In the workshop, visitors are invited to try it for themselves. Cotton replicas of several iconic fashion designs have been made, allowing for endless experimentation.

MAISON the FAUX

The extraordinary designs in the exhibition are a feast for the eyes, while the exhibition design by MAISON the FAUX will stimulate all the senses. This talented Dutch fashion duo now presents its collections at New York Fashion Week and Guangzhou Fashion Week. Especially for the exhibition, MAISON the FAUX has collaborated with Tenant of Culture to create an installation in which their pieces are preserved for eternity.

The Centraal Museum's fashion collection

The Centraal Museum has a well-balanced fashion collection comprising approximately 10,000 garments, including accessories. It is considered one of the most important collections in the Netherlands for both historical costume and contemporary fashion. Renowned designers such as Iris van Herpen, Maison Martin Margiela, Vivienne Westwood, Jan Taminiau, Issey Miyake, Viktor&Rolf, Craig Green and Junya Watanabe are represented. Almost every year, the museum stages a major, high-profile fashion exhibition.

Wanted: H&M duvet coat by Maison Martin Margiela

On 16 December 2016, the Centraal Museum launched a search for Maison Martin Margiela’s 2011 H&M duvet coat. For the exhibition, the museum was looking for the distinctive duvet coat that Maison Martin Margiela created for H&M in 2011. The coat was inspired by Martin Margiela’s iconic 1999 couture duvet coat. The Centraal Museum will present the H&M duvet coat alongside the couture design in Out of Fashion.