Some great disasters capture the collective imagination and, living on in their own legend, eventually become part of popular culture and a powerful symbol. This is precisely what happened with the sinking of the mighty Titanic on 14th April 1912. And there is nothing wrong with that. Terrible stories need to be told many times over to be emotionally processed.
The exhibition Titanic and Fashion. The Last Dance at the Kunstmuseum in The Hague seems to confirm this observation. Free from sensational tone, it shows the fate of the Titanic and its passengers in a broad historical and social context. https://www.kunstmuseum.nl/nl/tentoonstellingen/titanic-fashion
What’s there to be seen? Beautiful costumes from James Cameron’s film Titanic (1997), designed by Deborah Lynn Scott, for which she won an Oscar. So beautiful and authentic that it is easy to confuse them with the historic garments from the same period included in the exhibition. Most of them come from the Kunstmuseum’s own collection. There are several dresses by Lucille, a well-known London designer of the early 20th century, who herself survived the disaster, as well as dresses available in luxury department stores of the time, such as Hirsch & Cie. There are also contemporary designs referring to the era or inspired by the history of the Titanic, by Iris van Herpen, John Galliano and Simone Rocha.
I can only imagine the volume of preparation work performed by the textile department of the Kunstmuseum to make this exhibition happen. I admire the results and remain jealous I couldn’t see the progress while it was in the making.
The exhibition space is decorated in cool colours of light grey, white and pale blue, evoking associations with the cold atmosphere of the North Atlantic, and the decorative props refer to maritime motifs. There are ship ropes, cargo crates, round porthole windows, and structures resembling ship hull fittings. Dressed mannequins stand on arranged decks, against the backdrop of three distinctive, slightly tilted large chimneys. One of the rooms displays archival film footage documenting the construction, launch and inauguration of the Titanic’s first and only voyage.
So, there is plenty to see, but there is also plenty to listen to. The tour is accompanied by the sounds of sea waves, squawking seagulls and ship sirens. In the space dedicated to the famous eight-person orchestra resounds the last piece they played before the final sinking, Nearer, My God, to Thee, a very moving stop reminding that the musicians’ attitude has forever become a symbol of unwavering courage in the face of tragedy.
At the end of the tour, there is an opportunity to take a souvenir photo with the legendary Titanic staircase in the background for a small fee. To make the photos more authentic, visitors can wear one of several historic hats provided by the curators.
The exhibition does not follow a clear thematic path, although it shows the clothing of travelers from different social groups. However, I got the impression that the message it conveys has several levels. Just like the model of the sunken colossus, shown in cross-section.
The first one shows the fashion of 1912. Indeed, it was a turning point, especially in women’s fashion. Just a few years earlier, Paul Poiret shortened dresses, freed women from wearing corsets and was strongly inspired by the Near and Far East. A new era in aesthetics and lifestyle was about to begin. Its arrival was to be accelerated and sanctioned by the outbreak of the First World War in 1914, which no one yet knew.
Further the exhibition shows a panorama of social life, with its divisions and inequalities. We have a lot in common with that world. It also was a time of great migration in search of prosperity and the fulfilment of aspirations. Except that the direction was reversed at that time, with hundreds of thousands of people leaving Europe hoping for a better life in the United States, Brazil and Argentina. They were the third- and fourth-class passengers on the Titanic, almost none of whom survived. The disaster drastically highlighted class divisions, and the 20th century witnessed great social change, unrest and revolutions resulting from these divisions.
It is also a portrait of people intoxicated by technological progress. And it was groundbreaking indeed, with electricity, the telephone, the car, and the first attempts at flight. And, of course, ocean liners such as the Titanic, powerful, modern, unsinkable, making the journey from Europe to New York to last just over a week. The arrogance of people who had boundless faith in the technologies they had created and ignored the forces of nature proved to have a huge price tag and should give us pause for thought.
Finally, we come to face the fact that the sinking of the Titanic was a great tragedy that claimed nearly 1,500 lives out of 2,200 passengers. They came from many countries and represented probably all social classes of the time, affecting thousands of families worldwide, which is probably why it captured the collective imagination. However, no matter how romanticised the story of the Titanic may be, its victims suffered a terrible death. The exhibition at the Kunstmuseum, apart from presenting the captivating fashion of the early 20th century and explaining its zeitgeist, commemorates them and evokes deep empathy, which is its great success.
The exhibition Titanic and Fashion. The Last Dance will be open until 26th January 2026.