26 June 2022

Traditional headdresses in old and new designs and haute couture staging presented at the exhibition 'Head Adornment, Traditional Costume, and Identity' in the Liechtenstein National Museum in Vaduz (25 June - 30 October)

Two days ago, the exhibition 'Kopfschmuck, Tracht und Identität' (Head Adornment, Traditional Costume, and Identity) with more than 300 objects from around 40 countries in Europe, Asia and Africa was opened with additional live stream (available via the website) from the Liechtenstein Landesmuseum in Vaduz where the curator, ethnologist Irene Steiner introduced the approach to the collection, the research and preservation of traditional clothing and headdresses as well as the knowledge about the context when, where, who and on which occasion the wearable arts & crafts pieces were or are worn. Irene Steiner exemplified the approach by counting the used biographies of women who have worn the exhibited pieces between the 18th until the 21st century with a short calculation: At the exhibition, visitors get a glimpse of headdresses worn by several hundreds of women on occasion of festive events - from religious festivities to folk festivals - in around 40 countries over a time span of more than 300 years.

Images: A special focus for the presentation of the impact of traditional headdresses on the creation of regional identity as well as on contemporary fashion and vice versa is placed on the staging of traditional craftsmanship and modern design. Shown are for example original head adornments like the antique (around 1850) wheel-shaped 'Radhaube' in haute couture staging combined with torero jacket or new designs such as the wheel-shaped headdress 'Bodenseewellen' - the design interprets the waves of lake Bodensee - worn in combination with a traditional dress from the times of the Biedermeier of the first half of the 19th century.

Right: Antique (around 1850) wheel-shaped 'Radhaube' (lamé lace/hollow lace, motif seven 'roses') from the region of lake Bodensee (Liechtenstein, Germany, Austria, Switzerland) or Allgäu (Bavaria, Germany) in haute couture staging by the team Frank Rossbach, Hannah Ernst, Max Plaeth. Photo: Frank Rossbach.
Left: New creation 'Bodenseewellen', Feldkirch, Vorarlberg, Austria 2022.