Heavy Fabric

Clothes are part of our personality. They show who we are, who we want to be – or should be. Before garments were mass-produced and marketed globally, every article of clothing was a unique item created for a specific person, and the Danube-Swabian outfits in this exhibit date from that time.

They show the close relationship of women to their apparel – from work clothes to bridal trousseaus, from traditional costume for girls to funeral dress – and every ensemble recounts a female life story. Woven into the fabric are experiences of pride and deference, loss and death, hope and new beginnings.

In a sensual and touching way, the items of clothing reflect the everyday lives of their wearers as well as their rural and multicultural society. But they also show the traces of extreme experiences such as war and forced migration.

The exhibit is a cooperative effort between the Danube-Swabian Central Museum, Ulm; the Ethnographic Museum, Budapest; the Coordination of East-Central and Southeast Europe at the Museum of European Cultures, Berlin; and the Center for Design – Independent and State-Recognized Schools of Ulm.