Rachel Dubbe
DRESSCODE
celebrating the modern beauty of traditional dress
A single red ribbon gathering a white billowing blouse. Rows of golden chains weighing down on crushed velvet. An embroidered veil framing piercing eyes. For many centuries, generations of men and women worldwide have proudly marked sacred rituals, feasts and rites the passage wearing spectacular traditional dress. With every fabric, colour, stitch and shape many stories have been told, revealing a shared culture, regional craft and individual status.
Connecting past and present
With DRESSCODE: celebrating the modern beauty of traditional dress, Dutch artist Rachel Dubbe captures how the language of traditional dress connects past and present. Her striking mixed media portraits will feature men and women in their twenties, wearing selected pieces of traditional dress, interpreted in a contemporary way. Combining photographic images with painted layers on linen, Dubbe’s large canvases interact with the viewer as tactile objects, drawing us in.
Beauty, heritage and identity for a new generation
First stop: Ibiza, which Dubbe first visited fifteen years ago, struck by the rich culture lying
behind the glittering party image of this stunning Balearic Island. Here she discovered the colourful, elaborately embellished traditional dresses worn by the older women in the community. Pondering its artisanal detailing and historical references, she wondered: how does the young generation, who is continuously surrounded by fast fashion and digital imagery, approach beauty, heritage and identity today? As one 24 year old from Sardinia tells it: ‘Tradition is part of our identity.’
Handmade
On the island of Ibiza, the gonella dress, a black woollen skirt worn over a petticoat, topped with a white blouse and black felt hat, is believed to date back to the eighteenth century. Dangling coloured ribbons indicate the amount of suitors young women have attracted. Slowly crafted by hand, often worn for a lifetime, and handed down from one generation to the next, every piece of clothing is a visual testament to artisanal workmanship and personal dedication. These historical treasures are passed down from grandmother to daughter, and from father to son. Carefully stored in attics and museums, their cultural significance still endures, inspiring visual artists and fashion designers worldwide.
Rachel Dubbe
After studying at the Royal Academy of Art in The Hague, Rachel Dubbe embarked on a career as a photographer, publishing portraits and lifestyle series in high end international magazines.
In 2015 she created the series Am I... , featuring adolescent women from Amsterdam, wearing iconic Dutch Renaissance collars and Frisian peasant bonnets from the nineteenth century. These artworks did not show the formal, shy poses of times past, but acted as celebrations of strong women, looking straight into our eyes. Am I...was selected for the exhibition Masterly: the Dutch in Milano.
DRESSCODE - celebrating the modern beauty of traditional dress
This year Rachel Dubbe and her team of make-up artists, videographers and stylists will travel to Ibiza to scout young locals with a unique charisma to star in her DRESSCODE series. This pilot will be the starting point for her tour around the Balearic Islands and beyond, and will culminate in a pop-up exhibition on location in Ibiza, enhanced by lectures, curated objects and film.
Work
