An Exhibition of the Collection of Aleksandr Vasiljev at the Applied Arts and Design Museum

July 14, 2013

The exhibition was open to the public from 18 July - 29 September 2013. This was already the fifth exhibition supported by the ABLV Charitable Foundation, and this year it was dedicated to the fashion of the 1940s–1950s, presenting it from an unusual perspective — “From War to Peace”.

Fashion has always been an attribute of civilization and mirror of history. All political, economic and cultural events, social upheavals and wars leave their impact on the fashion of the relevant period. One of the most dramatic periods of 20th century human history was the Second World War, which resulted in enormous defeats, apocalypses caused by nuclear weapons and changes on the political map. It was followed by a period of relative peace and the so-called “baby boom”, which accompanied the post-war economic boom in Western Europe and the United States.
The exhibition “From War to Peace. 1940s–1950s Fashion” allowed visitors to enjoy a sense of nostalgia, accompanied by the music of the day, and dream about pre-war, post-war and wartime happiness, which, albeit harsh and relative, was happiness nevertheless.

The exhibition was complemented by audio-visual materials from Latvia’s State Archive of Audiovisual Documents.

Exhibitions of Aleksandr Vasiljev’s collection supported in previous years:

• 2012 – “Art Nouveau Fashion”;
• 2011 – “From the Mini to the Maxi. 1960s Fashion”;
• 2010 – “Art Deco Style – Inter-War Period Fashion”;
• 2009 – “Victorian Era Fashion”.