Born in 1999 within the Provincial Museums of Gorizia, the Museum of Fashion and Applied Arts represents one of the very few Italian museum institutions organically dedicated to the history of textiles and costume.
The exhibition itinerary, which winds between the Dornberg, Tasso and Formentini Houses, opens with a section dedicated to the production, processing and weaving of silk, activities which in the Gorizia area, part of the Habsburg Empire until 1918, were of great importance, especially in the eighteenth century, thanks to the impulse given by the emperors Maria Teresa and Joseph II. Simple, excellent quality silk fabrics were made, such as taffetas and gros de Tours, but also small works and splendid damasks. The story of this page of history is entrusted to textile samples and machinery, among which a monumental circular silk twisting machine dating back to the mid-18th century stands out.

On the occasion of the twentieth anniversary of the Museum, a new exhibition was inaugurated with a selection of the collections based on three common threads: stripes, checks and flowers. Three patterns that span the history of costume, changing connotation and meaning in a radical way.

Between the eighteenth and twentieth centuries they are much loved decorative motifs, which color the clothes (and accessories!) of men, women and children with different degrees of (in)formality. The fashion sketches and multifaceted objects bear witness to this. We start with fabric samples (silk, naturally) and move on to clothes, jewellery, lace, hats, embroidered handkerchiefs, bags and parasols. An interactive multimedia installation allows the visitor to try their hand at textile design, creating the most varied combinations to their liking.

The central part of the exhibition displays clothes with striped and checkered fabrics, ranging from the 18th to the early 20th century. Among the most spectacular are the women's dresses from the mid-19th century, intended to be worn with large crinolines. Another multimedia installation takes the visitor on a journey through the history of costume, among domestic interiors, gardens and theatres.

The last part of the journey is a sequence of situations inspired by the theme of the flower. They range from eighteenth-century men's clothing, more flowery than a herbarium, to the parasol of the 1920s. Among the women's dresses, those designed by Maria Monaci Gallenga stand out, with flowers inspired by Renaissance fabrics, but a parade of twentieth-century dresses makes it clear how popular the floral theme was throughout the century. The journey ends with a shower of flowers that creates atmospheres of pure poetry.

The Museum is managed by the Friuli Venezia Giulia Region through ERPAC - Regional Body for Cultural Heritage.