In an interview, collector and fashion historian Alexandre Vassiliev discusses how one of the world's largest private fashion collections is being built, and how archival pieces are being restored to their original luster.

Fashion is a paradox - it's utilitarian and functional, pleasing and outrageous. It is both a public object and a very personal aspect of our personality. It can be playful or serious, superficial or full of hidden meanings. It is a part of our everyday life, but it is also an art, gaining in value over time. The exhibition "The Paradox of Fashion: Fashion versus Art" at the Kampa Museum convinces us of all this. It connects the domestic collection of fine art with unique pieces of fashion from the second half of the 20th century from the visiting Alexandre Vassiliev Foundation. The collection of this theatre artist and fashion historian comprises over half a million objects and is considered the largest private fashion collection in the world. Vassiliev was born in Moscow but has lived in Paris since 1982, where he began designing costumes for theatres and operas. In an exclusive interview, he shares what fashion represents today and whether "haute couture is dead".

Is "The Paradox of Fashion" your first exhibition in Prague?

Yes, I was very pleased when my trust was invited by the Kampa Museum to create the exhibition "Fashion Paradox," which fits into the context of the museum's artworks from the second half of the 20th century. My fund has already organized over 250 exhibitions, but this is the first, and I hope not the last, exhibition in Prague. It is a great honor and a great joy for me. In total, we brought about a hundred costumes and a few accessories, which are placed not only on the first floor but also on the upper floors - there are already art deco exhibits.

I know you are the owner of one of the largest private collections of fashion. What does your collection include?

To date, the collection numbers over half a million pieces - it includes clothes, accessories, shoes, as well as art objects like drawings or paintings, and so on.

How long did it take to create the largest fashion collection in the world?

I've spent most of my life doing it, half a century. But my search is still active.

How does such a collection even begin? Which object started it, and conversely, which was the last one you acquired?

The first object I acquired for my collection was an 18th-century icon of St. Nicholas, which became my talisman and my amulet that protects me. However, as far as clothing specifically, I was sixteen years old. That's when I wrote an ad in the newspaper saying I was looking for antique clothing, hats, and accessories. So people would call or write to me and tell me where I could come and get it, or they would send it to me. It was a hobby of mine that my father helped sponsor. He was a theatre designer and therefore supported this hobby of mine. While my peers played football or enjoyed watching movies, I collected antique fashion.

What is your most treasured or favorite piece from your collection?

I guess I can't decide on one single object. There are many valuable and beautiful pieces in my collection, and it is constantly growing. With each new item, it becomes more diverse and also more valuable and interesting as a whole.

Within the vase, you are featuring pieces from the second half of the twentieth century, but you have much older pieces in your collection. How challenging is it to restore and keep such pieces in good condition?

Very. It is also difficult to find such professionals who are masters of their craft. However, I am lucky, as I have managed to find twelve of them, and they are now permanent members of my restoration team.

Such professionals are apparently very difficult to find these days.

Yes, it is. We used to advertise, and that's how we found them. Over time, a very diverse team of people aged 25-80 has formed, and they have now been working with me for over a decade. Some of them are trained professionals, and others are self-taught, specializing in a particular type of material or technique - embroidery or lace, for example. Others only work with black ink, and some only work with beads.

What does such restoration work look like in practice?

All these people work from the comfort of their own home. Once a month, they get together to hand out new work or to hand in a finished piece. They submit these to a committee of restorers who assess the quality of the work. It should be added that this commission does not always approve the work - it happens that it is returned for reworking. The same commission assigns new work whenever new pieces are added to the collection. They are not just given away to whoever is available. Why? Because I believe that one must do one's work with joy, and above all, with love. Every thing needs a soul...

In addition to being a collector and a theatre designer, you're also a fashion historian. You have written several books and lectured on the lives of famous designers. Which of them do you think personified the 20th century?

I'm a big fan of Paul Poiret. I think he was a real genius who liberated women from the corset, but he was also a fantastic designer - a colorist. For me, color plays a big role in fashion. There is one piece in this exhibition, but my collection includes both his perfumes and his paintings - he started painting after he retired from high fashion, so to speak.

And as for the 21st century?

You see, we're only 23 years in, so it's too early to draw conclusions. Understandably, a lot has happened in that time - several economic crises, pandemics, and war, and all of this has had an impact on fashion. We've also switched to fast fashion, which is locally and financially accessible, similar to what everyone else wears, and we don't have to say goodbye for long if it wears out. Today, fashion no longer has to adorn a woman; it is no longer a woman's decoration - instead, comfort, convenience, but also the desire to cover up excess weight, prevails. Especially after the pandemic.

With fast fashion and ready-to-wear having completely replaced haute couture, what is its function today?

Mainly to advertise the house and keep its name out there.

Is it enough if fashion is "just beautiful" - without concept, symbolism, or sometimes hidden meanings?

This is a difficult question to answer. Sometimes "just" aesthetics are not enough to make something popular. It always has some meaning or added value.

Yes, Vetements and Balenciaga under the Gvasali brothers are proof of that. Doesn't it seem to you that they are setting a new bar for haute couture, which today is little different from ready-to-wear?

Times are changing. Haute couture is losing its exclusivity - it used to be that one model could be produced in three versions. So there could only be three pieces of a given design on the entire planet. Haute couture thus represented exclusivity not only in quality but also in quantity. According to the new rules, one model could be copied up to ten times. Which is the same number as for ready-to-wear de luxe models. It's a shame.