75 years of fashion at the Kunstmuseum Den Haag: Reflections on Fashion
The Kunstmuseum Den Haag celebrates 75 years of its fashion collection with guest curators, an open depot and a pink dress from 1926 that became an online favourite. The exhibition runs until 3 January 2027.
A soft pink dress by Coco Chanel from 1926 was found unexpectedly among fabric remnants in the collection. After intensive restoration in the museum’s own studio it grew into an online audience favourite. Now it can be seen in public for the first time. It hangs in Reflections on Fashion at the Kunstmuseum Den Haag, the exhibition celebrating 75 years of the fashion collection. It can be seen from 4 July 2026 to 3 January 2027 inclusive.
The collection began in 1951 as the Dutch Costume Museum. It now counts more than 50,000 costumes and accessories and is the largest fashion and costume collection in the Netherlands. It has been housed in the Berlage building for 40 years, and the design by Maarten Spruyt is inspired by that building. In the galleries, iconic designs gain new perspectives from guest curators, designers and makers. Each co-curator devised a concept for a room of their own, starting from the depot. The team asked them what is missing from the collection and is filling those gaps where possible. In the 1950s the aim of the collection was to be a living institution, and it still keeps growing, from seventeenth-century showpieces to recent creations from the catwalk. The exhibition comes with a substantial catalogue. The pink Chanel dress also featured in a television programme about the museum’s secrets.
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Each guest curator has a room or an angle of their own. Jan Taminiau set up a room with many shades of black through the centuries. Lisa Konno chose forms of protest. ULKUHANBATUHAN, the duo of Ülkühan Akgül and Batuhan Demir, made a room of provocative combinations. Alu Studios shows animations of eighteenth-century costumes. Bas Kosters made a Gesamtkunstwerk about a safe house for everyone, in which visitors can take part. Ronald van der Kemp, Janice Deul and KledingCast are guest curators too.
The best part is the open depot by Tess van Zalinge. Pieces from the eighteenth, nineteenth and twentieth centuries hang there, from crinolines to corsets. You see the inside of a gown, which in a museum you usually only see from the outside. It is the best part because it shows what a costume is made of. The restoration studio and the depot are visible, and visitors can follow restorations up close as dress detectives.
The list of designers runs from Iris van Herpen and Coco Chanel to Fong-Leng, Hubert de Givenchy, Viktor & Rolf, Frank Govers and Karim Adduchi. A cocktail dress by Givenchy from autumn 1960 was worn by Audrey Hepburn in a film from 1961. A coat called Rups (Caterpillar) by Fong-Leng from 1975 was worn by Mathilde Willink. Next to the coat hangs a wall painting by Hadassah Emmerich.
Madelief Hohé, curator of fashion and costume, says of the work behind the collection: ‘So many people have worked on this collection with so much love for 75 years.’ General director Margriet Schavemaker calls the exhibition ‘an ode to 75 years of fashion history, and to the inspiration that fashion can offer’. Hohé also says that the collection keeps inspiring new generations and that she is proud of that. She praises the energy of the co-curators.
A public programme runs around the exhibition. On Saturday 14 November there is a historical fashion show with replicas of historical clothing. On Saturday 12 December comes a flash tour with Lisa Konno. At the Museon next to the museum there are Fashion Talks with Dr Valerie Steele. The co-curators give several Female Gaze tours, and there are workshops by DeSteek and a making table with Bas Kosters. Two panel discussions are held with Patta Academy and KledingCast. There are also a demonstration of tying angisa headwraps by Tailors & Wearers and an explanation of koto garments from the collection. The historical fashion show is staged by the Nederlandse Kostuumvereniging (Dutch Costume Society).
The museum is at Stadhouderslaan 41 in The Hague and is open daily from 10:00 to 17:00. On 31 December it closes at 16:00, and on Mondays the museum is closed. The exhibition is included in the museum ticket and the Museumkaart is valid. Booking in advance is required. The overview runs from the seventeenth century to the catwalk. The museum also shows Mix & Match by Antonis Pittas until 7 March 2027 and the permanent presentations Mondriaan & The Road to Abstraction, KM (New) Icons and Mondriaan & De Stijl.
Practical
Where: Kunstmuseum Den Haag, Stadhouderslaan 41, 2517 HV The Hague
Runs until: 3 January 2027 (opened 4 July 2026)
Open: daily 10:00-17:00, until 16:00 on 31 December; closed Mondays
Museumkaart valid; booking in advance required