Modefabriek Must See: exhibition Voices of Fashion

The Modefabriek Musts are our chance to keep you updated on the latest inspiring developments within the fashion community. This week’s Modefabriek Must is Voices of Fashion: Black Couture, Beauty & Styles; a fashion exhibition exploring the influence of black culture and its makers on the (international) fashion landscape. 

Ethnic diversity on the catwalk and in magazines may be top of the fashion agenda, but there’s still plenty to learn, and to change. How has black culture influenced the Dutch and international fashion identity, what exactly is the white gaze and how is the colonial past permeating the fashion systems of the present? The Centraal Museum Utrecht is the first art museum in the Netherlands to explore these and many other burning questions. The exhibition tells the story of black beauty, styles and music through the eyes of black makers, and reveals how for decades, the Eurocentric (white) gaze has impacted the presentation and collection of fashion. 

In the multidisciplinary exhibition Voices of Fashion, fashion curator Ninke Bloemberg and co-curator Janice Deul (a fashion activist) examine the influence of black designers on the international fashion scene, aiming to change the narrative and smash stereotypes. Deul and Bloemberg collaborated with more than 70 Dutch and international designers and lenders on the exhibition, including Marga Weimans, Giorgio Toppin, Farida Sedoc, Dapper Dan and Virgil Abloh, as well as burgeoning Dutch fashion brands such as Daily Paper, Patta and Filling Pieces. In addition to couture and fashion designs, expect photographs, paintings and films. See for yourself! (As soon as it’s allowed). 

The exhibition will open as soon as it is once again possible to visit museums in the Netherlands, and will be on display at the Centraal Museum, Utrecht. The eponymous book is available through Uitgeverij Wanders. 

Written by Marjolein Stormezand