In today's era of instant fashion, where a new, unique piece of clothing is just a click and a swipe away on your mobile phone, it is very difficult to imagine the inaccessibility and uniformity of the past. However, it is not so long ago that we were forced to wait in long lines for the cult of personality to repeatedly show us where we belong and how we should look. However, despite the hardships in Czechoslovakia, fashion design and production has a rich history. If you are interested, you can take a look into its depths at the Slovak National Gallery.
Those born later might mistakenly think that communism locked fashion behind bars for forty long years. The exhibition brilliantly illustrates the hardships and successes of fashion designers in Czechoslovak history, offers their complete story, and perfectly guides you through the entire genesis of fashion during the previous regime.
He points out the conformist role of clothing that fashion played in the eyes of socialism. After all, a socialist worker does not need pro-Western clothing that emphasizes his individuality, quite the opposite. Despite this, we see occasional liberalization of society and the associated creativity that was seen across the regime.
Finally, the exhibition gives space to the development of fashion photography in socialist Czechoslovakia, which directly follows on from fashion magazines.
After a great time at the exhibition, don't forget to stop for a coffee at the Berlinka café and the legendary Exlibris bookstore, where you will definitely find a copy of the book Stratená (m)Óda. We wish you a pleasant experience.
Photo source: SNG - Martin Deko
The exhibition Let Her Sew! is the work of curators Zuzana Šidlíková and Viera Kleinová, which thematically and materially develops a research project published in a book under the title Stratená (m)Óda (Author Zuzana Šidlíková). And whether you are interested in fashion and its history in our region from a professional point of view or are simply looking for a tip for a pleasant afternoon, a visit to the exhibition will undoubtedly meet your expectations. With eye-catching photographs, archival posters and especially models from the not-so-distant past, it will tell you, among other things, stories of creativity clenched by the fist of communism or of home-made elegance.
A separate chapter in the exhibition Let Them Sew! is the influence of fashion magazines and editorials, whose main task was to present socialist clothing production. It was precisely from the lack of originality and variety in these publications that the achievement so typical of socialism – home-made clothing – emerged.
