I’ll be the first to admit that I know absolutely nothing about fashion and so going to a fashion exhibition is quite outside my comfort zone. However, the end of the MAISON AMSTERDAM exhibition at the New Church in Amsterdam had a very special surprise – Queen Máxima wedding’s dress. They had kept the whole thing rather under wraps and there were just a few eagle-eyed royalty fans who spotted the designer of the dress on the list of contributors.
The New Church in Amsterdam is perhaps best known as the church used for the inauguration (rather than a coronation!) of the Dutch monarch and seeing the rather unusual designs throughout this beautiful church was a little unsettling to me. However, it is a good use of the space and the church often plays host to various kinds of exhibitions. I won’t pretend to know anything about the other pieces on display but I liked the catwalk-type setup they had done. The more historical looking pieces were not replicas but did not have any (known) royal connections.
The highlight of the exhibition was, of course, Queen Máxima wedding’s dress. To my knowledge, it has been on display just two times before since her 2002 wedding to the then Prince of Orange and I had personally never seen it in real life before. It was only after the official opening that it became clear that the dress was even on display and I’m not sure why it was being kept hidden. Don’t you want people to come to your exhibition?
It was absolutely wonderful to see the dress in real life, even with the fake tiara and the awkward glass and lighting combination.
Overall, it’s a great exhibition if you’re interested in fashion, though perhaps not much of interest to you if you only come for the royal history.
The exhibition will run until 3 April 2022. More information on opening hours and ticket prices can be found here.
Be the first to comment