Fashion Collection

The Twentieth and Twenty-First Century Fashion Collection focuses, principally on Spain, though it also contains several international pieces. Modernity first made its appearance in fashion in 1932, in a black dress by Balenciaga. Haute couture is represented by an extensive collection of dresses by Cristóbal Balenciaga in Paris and Spain, Pedro Rodríguez, Asunción Bastida, Carmen Mir and Santa Eulalia, reaching as far as Josep Font.

Paco Rabanne, Manuel Pertegaz, Elio Berhanyer, Antonio Meneses, Margarita Nuez, Roser Marcè, Antonio Miró and Sybilla exemplify the prêt-à-porter phenomenon (1960-1990) of small series made by fashion designers. The collection reaches the present in the form of such currently active designers as José Castro, Miriam Ponsa, Josep Abril, Txell Miras, Andrea Ayala, Marina Pujadas, Manuel Bolaño, Marlota, Miriam Ocariz and Amaya Arzuaga. The Catalan Trade, Crafts and Fashion Consortium cooperates with the Design Museum to include the winners of the 080 Barcelona Fashion Prizes into this collection each season.

The outstanding accessories include the collection of hats by Balenciaga and Pedro Rodríguez and other Barcelonan fashion houses such as Badia, Dols Martí and Paulina.

Apart from examples of clothing, the fashion system is presented at the museum through visual communication elements, including photographs and illustrations published periodically in magazines, design catalogues and advertisements. In this respect, over the last few years the Design Museum has built up a large fashion photography collection that spans the period from the early-twentieth century to the present.

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