Finding what fashion is in a Museum?
You can get the answer at the Fashion Museum of Hasselt, Belgium with their current exhibition. You will discover the history of fashion since the beginning of time, the emergence of the first fashion designers and also the cause of fashion trends.
Do you think that fashion is just clothes? If your answer is positive, let me tell you that you are a little bit lost. If you have a look to Wikipedia, it says that fashion is a popular style or practice, especially in clothing, footwear, accessories, makeup, body, or furniture. And it is true, fashion refers to the styles of dress that are currently popular but also goes beyond just clothes, though. It can extend to shoes, jewellery and even how you style your hair.
“Fashion is the most powerful art there is. It’s movement, design, and architecture all in one. It shows the world who we are and who we’d like to be. Just like your scarf suggests that you’d like to sell used cars.” — Blair Waldorf
For many people to dress fancy is a high priority. The same people will say that fashion is art. On the opposite, there are people who think that it is not. The one thing that stays the same with fashion is this: it always changes. And you might be thinking: if fashion always change, what is the purpose of a fashion museum: the history.
As a history book, the Fashion Museum of Hasselt tells everything about the beginning of fashion. Of course it does not tell it by itself. If you are interested in going to the museum, please pay for a guide. If there is nobody to explain the things you see it will be like watching a movie in a language you do not know without subtitles, you will not understand even half of what you are seeing.
I had the opportunity to go on a guide tour and it was worth it. Our guide, Cathy Paredis, started the tour asking what is fashion, and she answered that it is possible to find the respond inside the museum.
Even though the newest fashion museum in Belgium is un Antwerp, Hasselt’s museum houses the cause of a couple of fashion trends, like the reason why some high heels shoes have the sole painted in carmine colour. The answer: Christian Louboutin.
As the first “brands” appeared as we know them today, also the fake copies started raising.
The objective was now to set aside plagiarists from the market. As the designers became more and more famous, others started to make fake copies of their famous brands. There were some designers who did not care about the plagiarists, but others like Cristóbal Balenciaga were very cautious. He even banned the cameras and drawings during his fashion shows so no one could show the outcome of his work until it was actually sold.
From the most famous designers all over the world to the most famous local designers. That is what you can see in the Fashion Museum of Hasselt, but remember: fashion always change! So first get to know the exposition that is already set up or the ones that are to come. You can have a look on their website: www.modemuseumhasselt.be
