At the heart of fashion lies a constant quest for the new and for change \u2013 yet in the history of fashion there are names to which we return time and again: with admiration and respect, to draw inspiration or to rediscover them.<\/p>\n
These names are inscribed in the history of fashion in letters of gold \u2013 fashion designers, or couturiers, who have brought about changes in fashion, offering a vision so compelling and original that it has been accepted without reservation, or who have been particularly skilful in drawing on traditions, craftsmanship and timeless beauty. Some of these names are known to everyone, even those who claim to have no interest in fashion, whilst others have been quite undeservedly forgotten \u2013 largely because the fashion houses founded by these masters no longer exist. The transient nature of fashion is ruthless in this respect\u2026<\/p>\n
The exhibition \u2018The Greatest Names in Fashion\u2019 offers an insight into the history of 20th-century fashion by tracing the journeys of its creators: from Paul Poiret\u2019s oriental extravagance to Gabrielle \u2018Coco\u2019 Chanel\u2019s modern approach, from the refined femininity of Jeanne Lanvin and Madeleine Vionnet to Elsa Schiaparelli\u2019s bold surrealism, from Christian Dior\u2019s \u2018flower-woman\u2019 to Crist\u00f3bal Balenciaga\u2019s sculptural mastery, from the 1960s minimalism of Hubert de Givenchy, Pierre Cardin and Andr\u00e9 Courr\u00e8ges to the flamboyant Italians Valentino Garavani and Gianni Versace, concluding with the provocative trends in Parisian haute couture introduced by Jean-Paul Gaultier and John Galliano.<\/p>\n
The exhibition will also provide an insight into the significant periods of change that fashion \u2013 and haute couture in particular \u2013 has undergone. In its day, haute couture consisted of made-to-measure garments of the very highest quality, crafted from the finest materials.<\/p>\n
The luxury of these garments lay not in their bright colours or extravagant silhouettes, but in their impeccable cut, tailoring and the quality of the fabrics. Today, one would call this \u2018quiet luxury\u2019 \u2013 silk cocktail dresses, day suits, woollen coats. However, the craftsmanship is of such high quality that each of these garments is a true little masterpiece, which fashion connoisseurs will recognise at a glance.<\/p>\n
In the 1950s, the idea that designer clothes could also be sold in shops as ready-to-wear items \u2013 choose your size, pay and put them on! \u2013 began to attract increasing attention. Pr\u00eat-\u00e0-porter clothing enabled fashion houses to reach a much wider clientele, as the prices of such garments were significantly lower and they were more readily available \u2013 without the need for measurements or repeated fittings. In the 1960s, this new approach became firmly established in the fashion industry \u2013 haute couture now had to compete with garments that were more affordable but no less interesting in terms of design.<\/p>\n
Nowadays, there are very few fashion houses left that adhere to the strict rules of haute couture, and their client base is also shrinking. Not everyone can afford an outfit costing anywhere from several thousand to as much as hundreds of thousands\u2026 As lifestyles change, there are no longer as many occasions where one might wear such special outfits.<\/p>\n
For the most part, fashion houses make their money from ready-to-wear clothing, as well as collections of cosmetics, perfumes and accessories. Haute couture, on the other hand \u2013 for those fashion houses that have retained this division at all \u2013 serves more as a huge, visually spectacular show. Its purpose is not so much to offer designs that can actually be worn, but rather to build the fashion house\u2019s reputation and recognition, define its stylistic direction and showcase its creativity.<\/p>\n
Fashion, as it has always done, accurately reflects what is happening in society: convenience and comfort are becoming more important to us than high status and a flawless cut, which require us to maintain a straight posture, strike elegant poses to complement our outfits, and choose equally flawless accessories. Does this mean that the unique craftsmanship of couturiers, tailors, seamstresses and embroiderers will be lost? \u2013 As long as the ateliers of fashion houses, much like secret treasure troves, preserve the priceless skills and experience that master craftsmen have passed down from generation to generation, we need not worry about fashion.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Ten years ago, on 20 October 2016, the ribbon was officially cut to mark the opening of the Fashion Museum. Over the years, the museum has organised 17 exhibitions dedicated to fashion and its history, in collaboration with private collectors and drawing on its own collection. To mark this anniversary, in the autumn of 2026 and the winter\/spring of 2027, the Fashion Museum presents a special exhibition dedicated to outstanding fashion designers and the changes that have taken place in fashion throughout the 20th century. The exhibition has been organised in collaboration with the Alexandre Vassiliev Foundation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":13889,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false},"product_brand":[],"product_cat":[202],"product_tag":[],"class_list":["post-13915","product","type-product","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","product_cat-exhibitions-en","first","instock","sold-individually","shipping-taxable","purchasable","product-type-booking"],"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-10-22 23:45:40","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"product_visibility","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fashionmuseumriga.lv\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product\/13915","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fashionmuseumriga.lv\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fashionmuseumriga.lv\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/product"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fashionmuseumriga.lv\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13889"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.fashionmuseumriga.lv\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13915"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"product_brand","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fashionmuseumriga.lv\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product_brand?post=13915"},{"taxonomy":"product_cat","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fashionmuseumriga.lv\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product_cat?post=13915"},{"taxonomy":"product_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.fashionmuseumriga.lv\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product_tag?post=13915"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}