"Fashion Show": Exploring Europe‘s royal wardrobes
Today, 17 June, the exhibition "Fashion Show - Princely Wardrobes from the 16th to the 18th Century" officially opens at Ambras castle in Innsbruck, Tyrol. Every day from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., visitors can either stroll through on their own, enjoy a guided tour or take part in workshops.
Paintings from the Habsburg Portrait Gallery have been selected to enter into a dialogue with original costumes and accessories from the past. Lenders to the exhibition include the MAK and Albertina in Vienna, the Bavarian National Museum and the State Art Collection in Dresden.
The aim of the exhibition is to illustrate the immensely important role of clothing as a means of representing social status. Precious textiles made of silk fabric as well as shoes, fans, gloves and jewellery made of gold and silver with glass pearls or precious gemstones were reserved for the elite classes and signalled their wealth, power and position.
“Fashion Show" was put together by a team of three curators consisting of Veronika Sandbichler, Director of Schloss Ambras, Katja Schmitz von Ledebur, Deputy Director of the Kunst- und Schatzkammer of the Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienna (KHM), as well as the Creative Director of the KHM, Stefan Zeisler.
To build a bridge between the past and the present, a cooperation with the Viennese art and fashion school KunstModeDesign Herbststraße was brought to life. Students of the master classes for haute couture and stage costume were inspired by paintings in the exhibition to create their own designs. The works of the next generation of Austrian designers found their way to Schloss Ambras, where they have become important additions to "Fashion Show".
Photo: KunstModeDesign Herbststraße
If you would like to see the groom's dress of Elector August of Saxony or laced bodices and crinolines from the time of Marie-Antoinette up close and personal, the exhibition at Schloss Ambras welcomes visitors from 17 June to 3 October 2021.
For those who would like to take a piece of "Fashion Show" home with them – the exhibition catalogue with detailed photographs and expert contributions by international experts, including Christian Lacroix, is available on site as well as online on the castle's website.
