The Like a Rose: Fashion as a Mirror of Its Time exhibition, first held in 2020 at the Moravian Museum in Brno, is now open in a reprised version at the Mikulov Regional Museum, from 25 April 2025. It showcases urban clothing dating from 1880 to 1925. Most of the artifacts come from the collections of the Ethnographic Institute of the Moravian Museum, supplemented by items from the Moravian Gallery, Brno City Museum, and Regional Museum in Mikulov.
Clothing followed fashion trends at an increasingly rapid pace, dictated by the spirit of the times and by cultural, social and technological developments. At the turn of the 20th century, the so-called Belle Époque (Beautiful Era), was replaced by crisis and uncertainty, and finally by the hardships of World War I, which fundamentally influenced even women's clothing. Women had to adapt to material shortages and new situations requiring practical clothing in which they could do their husbands' work. With the end of the war and the creation of the new republic, fashion also embarked on a completely new path of simple lines and minimal decoration, definitive abandonment of corsets, but also of dresses expressing national self-confidence through decoration inspired by folk embroidery.
Guided Tours of the Exhibition:
- Wednesday, May 14, 2025 at 5:00 PM
- Wednesday, June 18, 2025 at 5:00 PM
- Wednesday, September 17, 2025 at 5:00 PM
The exhibition presents clothing from the turn of the 20th century. Visitors can see dresses with bustles or leg-of-mutton sleeves, garments with the so-called pigeon breast from the early 20th century, as well as altered outfits from the World War I period, and last but not least, dresses with lowered waists typical of the 1920s. A collection of women's outfits is complemented by men's suits. Children's clothing has not been overlooked either. Underwear is displayed separately, which besides its hygienic function was essential for proper shaping of the outer garments' silhouette. The exhibition also includes dozens of accessories such as shoes, handbags, buttons, hairpins, combs, and hats.
Interactive screens installed in the exhibition allow visitors to virtually try on women's formal wear, browse through dozens of photographs and period anecdotes focused on fashion. A glossary helps with orientation among textile materials and terms used in the exhibition texts. For playful visitors, a ladies' boudoir is prepared, with replica garments to try on, with the opportunity to take pictures.
