Ball gowns, corsets, silk, cute hats, elegant shoes … It’s easy to touch history, to breathe in the delicate smell of bygone eras - the Moscow Fashion Museum was created for true connoisseurs of vintage collections.
Fashion History is an Interesting Science
Fashion and costume museums work in many European capitals. According to fashionable trends of the past, it is possible to restore the picture of customs, mores and life values of all walks of life at different times.
You can study fashion in various ways. True connoisseurs of the history of the costume know that you can still find unique items in private collections, among museum stores, and often the rarest things just gather dust in the forgotten chests of old apartments. Combining everything found in one living collection, restoring and systematizing is not an easy task. Feedback from visitors indicates that this is why ten years ago the first and only fashion museum in Russia opened in Moscow.
How it all began
Guest reviews say that the idea of creating a fashion gallery arose after Valentino fashion house donated one of its collections to Moscow. A year later, through the efforts of the future art director and the famous fashion designer Valentin Yudashkin, a new state budget institution was registered.
For ten years, the Fashion Museum in Moscow did not have its own premises - all events were held in guest mode on other people's venues. Despite the difficulties, from the first day of its foundation, the museum participated in all the fashionable cultural events of the capital, invariably arousing public interest with original collections. The visitors' comments told that the museum noted the housewarming only at the end of 2015, when after years of wandering, it finally got a permanent residence in Gostiny Dvor. The opening of the first exposition took place on December 23, 2015, then in the new exhibition halls more than 100 models of clothes were shown, showing the fashion of the early twentieth century.
From the museum to the exhibition center - ten years and dozens of exhibitions
Reading the reviews of visitors, you can find out that today the Fashion Museum in Moscow is a modern cultural center, where permanent exhibitions work, lectures, concerts, exhibitions are held. Master classes and non-standard programs, such as “Night at the Museum” and “Night of the Arts”, are very popular with visitors. And back in 2007, future employees and enthusiasts bit by bit gathered the first exposition, starting to realize the idea of creating a museum.
Dresses, outerwear, shoes and jewelry from Russia, the USA, England, France - today more than 2000 exhibits are stored in storage. Here are collected different models - from exclusive designer to nameless and everyday. Many of the things, especially shoes and accessories, required serious restoration and thorough care. Feedback from visitors notes that, thanks to the professionalism of the staff and volunteers, all exhibits are in excellent condition today.
What a museum lives in
In the museum rooms do not have to be bored. Thousands of visitors have already seen this, many of whom managed to not only see the collections, but also participate in various gallery events.
Exhibitions and stationary expositions are far from everything the Fashion Museum pleases its guests with. Famous fashion designers and fashion historians regularly lecture here. “Symbols in art”, “Lace in a modern costume”, “From imperial luxury to Soviet chic” - the themes of the author's lectures are varied and exciting, and the presenters are real ascetics of fashion history.
The museum and exhibition complex also gives shelter to young talents - employees constantly hold fashion shows, sponsored by college and university students.
Exhibitions and expositions
Visitor reviews explain that expositions in exhibition halls are always thematic. Themes here are selected unique, they don’t show anything similar anywhere else in the capital. For example, the permanent exhibition “Anthology of a Long Dress” shows how women's fashion changed at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. And the exhibition “Man in uniform. A look through the screen ”introduces viewers to how historical military costumes are made for filming movies. One of the museum’s latest projects is the exhibition “On Noisy Moscow Streets” - a retrospective display of the fashion of three historical periods: the end of the 19th century, the 40s of the last century and Soviet fashion from 1950 to 1970.
An additional entourage to all shows is added by a demonstration of films and documentary shootings about the history of fashion, which accompany each exhibition.
Opening hours in the new house
In 2016, a new permanent resident, the Fashion Museum, appeared in one of the largest trade and exhibition centers in Moscow under the name Gostiny Dvor. The address of the institution today: Moscow, st. Ilyinka, 4, entrance 1, second floor. On Tuesday, Wednesday, Sunday, exhibition halls receive visitors from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., Friday and Saturday from 12 a.m. to 8 p.m., and on Thursday from 12 a.m. to 7 p.m. On Monday, the Fashion Museum, like most museums in the world, is closed to the public.
The total cost of the ticket is 150 rubles, for privileged categories (children, students, pensioners and disabled people) - 30 rubles. Here you can also book individual or group excursions, the cost of which depends on the number of guests and the duration of the show.
