That Seventies show...

(© Saskia Vanderstichele)

Fashionistas don’t need to head off to Paris or Antwerp for their kicks. Brussels is also home to fashion and interesting fashion exhibitions – just think of the “Yves Saint Laurent: A Visionary” exhibition at the Espace Culturel ING. Following the 2008 and 2010 exhibitions “From New Look to Expo 58. The Fashion of the 1950s” and “Sixties! Liberating Colours”, the Museum of Costume and Lace is surprising its visitors once again with one of its collections, this time straight from the Seventies. In a complete Seventies décor, the museum takes you back to the age of hippies, lava lamps, and glitter.

The exhibition’s title, “Seventies, Whatever You Like”, says it all. The Museum of Costume and Lace has a broad and varied spectrum of the era’s fashion (linked to the women’s emancipation that really took over at the time) on display, spread out over two floors. The pieces are organised according to specific categories: “Elegance at work”, “Disco fever”, or “Shopping”. An interesting touch is that some clothes are exhibited together with their original advertisements from back in the day, which really boosts the imagination. Furthermore, the museum also dedicates a corner of the exposition to handmade lace, with a display of the techniques and their relevance in the Seventies. An outfit just can’t be called an outfit without matching shoes, is also something the museum didn’t forget: just look at the typical and impressive platform shoes! Though the exhibition is rather small, the variety of eye-catching clothing pieces makes up for it.

Kids get to experience “Seventies, Whatever You Like” in an interactive way. Mysterious little boxes containing educational information are scattered all over the museum. The kids are also allowed to touch various fabrics, and at the end, even get to dress up Seventies style!

Seventies, Whatever You Like > 2/3, ma/lu/Mo, di/ma/Tu, do/je/Th > zo/di/Su 10 > 17.00, €4, Museum voor het Kostuum en de Kant/Musée du Costume et de la Dentelle, Violetstraat 12 rue de la Violette, Brussel/Bruxelles, 02-213-44-50, www.museumvoorhetkostuumendekant.be, www.museeducostumeetdeladentelle.be

Photos © Steffi de Jonge