Haute Bordure at the Fries Museum

Let’s hope museums can open their doors soon again. They have been forced to close their doors here in the Netherlands because of Covid-19 on 15 December 2020. Honestly I think the museums and many people can’t wait until they open again. There is one exhibition I particularly hope to visit soon, as it is not that far from where I live.

As soon as it is possible the Fries Museum in Leeuwarden is going to open its exhibition “Haute Bordure” with nearly 150 embroidered garments and accessories. The history of four centuries of handmade embroidery in Dutch fashion is shown, up till fashion designer Jan Taminiau, who is wellknown for his designs for Queen Máxima of the Netherlands. The garments are made of luxurious materials like gold thread, silk, pearls and sequins.

The exhibition has a royal touch too. More about it later after I have visited (hopefully). There are four royal dresses, of the last four queens:

  • A Parisian evening dress made for Queen Wilhelmina from about 1911, changed about 1923. She wore it for an official portrait in 1912, and again in 1923.
  • An evening gown with Swarovski crystals from 1966-1967. Queen Juliana wore it early 1967 for a dinner on the occasion of her daughter Princess Margriet’s wedding, and again for state visits in later years.
  • An evening dress of Princess Beatrix, worn at a gala dinner on the occasion of her wedding 1966.
  • An evening gown by Jan Taminiau for Queen Máxima, exhibited before in 2018.

If you can’t go, but are interested: there is a book too.

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