Yes, I do!

This autumn, the Fries Museum in Leeuwarden will open a major exhibition on the wedding dress, featuring historical, modern and contemporary dresses spanning the past 250 years. Focusing on the wedding dress in the Netherlands, the exhibition takes visitors on a journey through time, from the 18th century to the present day, in search of the essence of this iconic garment. How was the wedding dress influenced by fashions and traditions? Where did the ‘white’ wedding dress, as we know it today, come from? And what does the dress say about the wearer? Yes, I do! will be open to the public from 14 September 2024 to 16 February 2025.

The exhibition, designed by MAISON the FAUX and featuring graphics by Dana Dijkgraaf Design, presents an overview of the history of the wedding dress, an iconic garment for centuries. The wedding dress reflects the world of the bride: from fashion and zeitgeist to taste and social class. Based on the personal stories of the wearers, visitors gain insights into the development of the wedding dress and thus the position of women in the Netherlands. Marvel at some 60 dresses in Yes, I do! – from a wedding suit from 1782 to numerous contemporary designs, including by Viktor&Rolf (with the wedding dress of beauty content creator and presenter Nikkie de Jager alias NikkieTutorials), Iris van Herpen and Jan Taminiau. The diversity of dresses not only showcases how fashions change, but also offers a glimpse into social themes such as individuality, emancipation and gender equality. One of the rooms has been converted into a studio, where Claes Iversen will demonstrate how a wedding dress designer goes about his work.

Masterpiece: Queen Máxima’s wedding dress
One of the highlights of the exhibition is Queen Máxima’s wedding dress, in which she said yes to (then) Prince Willem-Alexander on 2 February 2002. Italian fashion house Valentino created an ivory mikado silk dress with three-quarter sleeves, a cowl neckline and a five-metre-long train for her.

Loans
In addition to dresses from our own collection, the exhibition features extraordinary wedding dresses from Kunstmuseum Den Haag, Museum Dordrecht, Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, Museum Rotterdam, Amsterdam Museum, Centraal Museum, Nederlands Openlucht Museum, bridal shop Koonings The Wedding Palace, various designers and private collections.

Book
The exhibition will be accompanied by a richly illustrated catalogue that delves even deeper into the history of the wedding dress in the Netherlands. The foreword is written by former de Volkskrant style editor Cécile Narinx. The book will be on sale from 14 September in the museum shop and the Fries Museum’s webshop.

This exhibition is co-sponsored by Leeuwarden Municipality, Blockbusterfonds, Mondriaan Fund and Stichting Het Nieuwe Stads Weeshuis.

The Fries Museum is co-funded by Windpark Fryslân, the Province of Fryslân, the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science, the VriendenLoterij, Ir. Abe Bonnema Foundation and the Friends of the Fries Museum.

Images courtesy of Fries Museum and Ruben van Vliet.