Reflections on Fashion in The Hague: how 50,000 garments hold identity and time

Reflections on Fashion runs at Kunstmuseum Den Haag from 4 July to 3 January 2027. Museum admission is required and Museumkaart is accepted. It suits fashion, design and cultural-history readers; check opening hours and allow at least half a day, because this exhibition cannot be understood by photographing the most dramatic dress and moving on. Because invited makers also identify gaps in the collection, the visit asks not only what has been beautifully preserved, but which bodies and stories are still absent.

• The protagonist is a collection that keeps changing: it began as the Dutch Costume Museum in 1951 and has grown into the Netherlands' largest fashion and costume collection, with more than 50,000 garments and accessories spanning 17th-century statements to recent catwalk work.
• The selectors are part of the story: designers and makers including Jan Taminiau, Lisa Konno and Bas Kosters chose objects and were asked what the collection was missing. The question of who gets preserved becomes visible.
• Why slow looking pays off: clothes operate as evidence of identity, workmanship and their era. Comparing the silhouette, material and view of the body in one historical and one contemporary piece reveals more than hunting only for spectacle.

Hokimi field note: Pick one object you would wear and one you do not understand, then read their dates, materials and selection logic; your own taste starts to look historical too.