The Museo Nacional del Romanticismo presents, from March 4th, the exhibition Echoes of Romantic Fashion, an exhibit that brings together over forty pieces from the Antoni de Montpalau Foundation’s garment collection. The exhibition, curated by Josep Casamartina i Parassols and Ismael Núñez Muñoz, is displayed throughout the rooms of the Palace of the Marquis of Matallana’s, the museum’s headquarters in Madrid.
The exhibition establishes a dialogue between contemporary fashion and 19th-century shapes. Silhouettes inspired by crinolines, panniers, and floral prints are reinterpreted by Spanish fashion designers of the 20th and 21st centuries, whose pieces are displayed alongside the museum’s historical collections.
Among the designs featured, there are many works by designers associated with the Asociación de Creadores de Moda de España (ACME). On display are a Sybilla cape, a Tot-Hom evening dress, and a Cristóbal Balenciaga evening gown. These are accompanied by a cocktail dress by Teresa Helbig, two jackets by Davidelfín, and an ensemble by Jesús del Pozo, as well as a piece by Elio Berhanyer—the latter three are ACME honorary associates in memoriam.
The garments are distributed throughout the museum’s different rooms, integrated into domestic settings that recreate 19th-century bourgeois life. The exhibit concludes with a room dedicated to couturier Pedro Rodríguez, where dresses and sketches presented showcase his interest in Romantic shapes and their reinterpretation throughout 20th-century haute couture.
The exhibition may be visited at the Museo Nacional del Romanticismo, calle San Mateo, Madrid, until June 7th, 2026.
