Back Side – Fashion From Behind (Dos à la Mode) (Touring)

While fashion usually likes to be admired from the front, the exhibition Back Side focuses all attention on the back. To explore this original thematic, the Fashion & Lace Museum has joined forces with the Palais Galliera, Fashion Museum of Paris for the first time ever. 
 
The exhibition presents an exceptional collection of clothing and accessories from the 18th century up to the present day. By bringing together pieces from both museums and fashion houses with roaring names such as Chanel, Jean-Paul Gaultier, Elsa Schiaparelli, Azzedine Alaïa, Martin Margiela and Olivier Theyskens, Back Side questions the perception we have of our back and that of others. The human being has an ambiguous relationship with his back. A person is vulnerable because he/she cannot see his/her back; and yet fashion constantly decorates it, burdens it, reveals it. 
 
The majestic train of a court gown, the weight of a backpack, the sensuality of a plunging neckline, the constraints of a fastening system…Thanks to Back Side, you will never look at your back the same way again! 

Touring

Musée du Costume et da la dentelle, Brussels, 08 November – 31 March 2018

Palais Galliera at the Musée Bourdelle, Paris 05 July – 17 November 2019

Image courtesy of Musée du Costume et da la dentelle, Brussels