The Europeana Fashion of.. Centraal Museum Utrecht

Iris van Herpen, Escapism collection. From the collection of the Centraal Museum Utrecht. © Ernst Moritz

In The Europeana Fashion of.. we explore the unique role of each partner in the Europeana Fashion project. In this edition, an interview with Ninke Bloemberg, fashion and costume curator at Centraal Museum Utrecht.

How would you describe your institution’s role in the Europeana Fashion project?
We will provide imagery of our 9000 piece fashion and costume collection, which covers the history of Dutch fashion since the 17th century. The focus is on contemporary fashion though, including pieces from many national as well as international designers such as Maison Martin Margiela, Junya Watanabe and Hussein Chalayan. We have the biggest Viktor & Rolf collection in the Netherlands and were the first to exhibit and collect pieces of the young Dutch designer Iris van Herpen. An overview of fashion exhibitions as from 1906 will also be part of our contribution.

What  aspect of Europeana Fashion are you most excited about?
Working with European colleagues. I am very curious to see if there are parallels between our collection and other collections of European partners, and where the main differences can be found.

What is your future vision of digitization and fashion heritage, and how can it contribute to awareness of fashion heritage?
New generations grow up using the internet, social media and so on. I am convinced that Europeana Fashion will increase curiosity and make it easier for viewers to find a way to the physical collection. Therefore, I believe this online initiative together with the real pieces will create a synergy. It is also a perfect solution for exhibiting the often fragile textiles, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. These new technologies make it possible to – for example – create your own online fashion exhibition with the European fashion treasures.

What is your favorite object in the collection and why?
Since I am an omnivore, I appreciate historical pieces as well as contemporary designs. The white 3D printed dress of Iris van Herpen is one of my favorites, since it combines new technologies and exploring the borders of fashion, with fabulous sculptural results.

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