The Collection of Wien Museum
The Wien Museum is one of the partners that will submit its collection to the Europeana Fashion portal. The collection is characterised by evening dresses, ball gowns and delicate undergarments from the 19th and 20th century that sketch an image of Vienna and the Viennese society.
Corset, 1880. Collection Wien Museum.
The fashion ollection of the Wien Museum was founded after the second world war by Alfred Kunz, the first director of the Vienna Fashion School in Hetzendorf. In 1954, his private collection was combined with the collection of the city of Vienna and became part of the Wien Museum.
Today it is one of the largest European costume collections, comprising over 22.000 objects, mainly women’s dress and accessories such as hats, shoes, handbags, umbrellas, etc., and a small collection of men’s and children’s dress and accessories.
The emphasis lies on women’s fashion of the 19th and 20th century, in particular evening dresses and ball gowns. The collection also comprises fragile ladies underwear from around 1900 and the 1920s, satin shoes and boots from the early 19th century, wedding dresses, “Reform” dresses designed by Kolo Moser, designs from Christoph Drecoll, Ludwig Zwieback, W.F. Adlmüller, Gertrude Höchsmann, Farnhammer, Fashingbauer and millinery creations by Adele List.
The collection is continually growing, through purchases and contributions, in order to document the historical development of fashion and dress typical for Vienna and the Viennese society.
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Balldress, 1912. Collection Wien Museum.
"Biedermeier“ dress, 1828, made of a very fine white batist, hand-embroidered and handsewn. Collection Wien Museum.
Shoes for a Bride, 1905. Collection Wien Museum.
Underwear, 1920s. Collection Wien Museum.