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Global Wardrobe — The Worldwide Fashion Connection

Kunstmuseum Den Haag

In this short documentary, we put five creators through their paces about cultural appropriation in the world of fashion: Where is the ethical line between inspiration and appropriation of influences from other cultures and movements?

Video afspelen

Kunstmuseum Den Haag opened the autumn season with an impressive fashion blockbuster Global Wardrobe – The Worldwide Fashion Connection. Not only does it zoom in on fashion as a global phenomenon, but also on cultural appropriation in the fashion world. The exhibition covers the museum’s Western European fashion collection and the extra-European influences that played a role here. Once you step into the exhibition you will discover it is set up in a chronological manner, in three phases. The eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the twentieth century, and the present. “They represent the phases of imitation, inspiration and innovation. A deliberate choice was made to treat this theme not by region but in time periods. This reveals how the dominant views of ’the global fashion connection’ are constantly changing and can be placed in a historical context.”

 

The museum invites you to delve into their repository to soon discover common threads with other cultures all over the world. Hand-painted cotton from India, soft Chinese silk, imaginative batik designs from Indonesia and colourful variations on the Japanese kimono: each of these garments represents the world, and tells a story of inspiration and connection. Lovely but also painful stories, for many of these textiles were made during the age of colonialism and unequal power relations. This exhibition comes at a time when ideas about fashion as a global phenomenon and about cultural appropriation in the fashion world are in the spotlight. Kunstmuseum Den Haag will invite visitors to look beyond the splendour and see clothes as part of the world history they represent. Special attention will be focused on makers who design with an open view of the world, bringing their own cultural background to the fore.

“The line between appropriation and appreciation? It’s your intention.”
– Karim Adduchi

About Kunstmuseum Den Haag

The Kunstmuseum is a modern palace of the arts. Step inside this enchanting building, wander through its beautiful daylit galleries and discover that special work of art that touches you personally. You might even leave a little in love. With that extraordinary painting by Monet, that impressive photography exhibition, the adventurous life of Piet Mondrian, the intimate galleries, or the period rooms full of Delftware. A visit to the Kunstmuseum is always a memorable and meaningful experience.

About Kunstmuseum Den Haag

The Kunstmuseum is a modern palace of the arts. Step inside this enchanting building, wander through its beautiful daylit galleries and discover that special work of art that touches you personally. You might even leave a little in love. With that extraordinary painting by Monet, that impressive photography exhibition, the adventurous life of Piet Mondrian, the intimate galleries, or the period rooms full of Delftware. A visit to the Kunstmuseum is always a memorable and meaningful experience.

Case
Global Wardrobe — Behind The Seams 
 (The Documentary)

 

Partner
Kunstmuseum Den Haag

 

Production Company
Together & Dedicated

 

Project Year
2021

Production
André Marques

 

Creative Directory
Tim Wes

 

D.P. | Editor
René Huwaë

 

1st AC
Anointing Okah

 

Music
Tim Wes

 

Narrator
André Marques

 

Special thanks to Karim Adduchi, Guillaume Philibert, Maru Asmellash, Marga Weimans, Lisa Konno and Zaida Bouwmeester.