THE FASHION WORLD OF THE KALEF FAMILY
Organizer: Museum of Applied Art, Belgrade
Belgrade’s Museum of Applied Art Collection of textile and costume was enhanced in 2019 by a valuable gift consisting of 33 color fashion illustrations from the famous German magazine Die Modenwelt (World of Fashion). These illustrations were created in the period from 1892 to 1898 and were once owned by Matilda Kalef (1879–1942), a member of the famous Belgrade-based Sephardic trading family Kalef and the owner of a dressmaker’s shop in Višnjićeva Street.
In the period from 11 to 30 June 2022, these illustrations will be presented to the public with the The Fashion World of the Kalef Family exhibition at the Museum of Applied Art in Belgrade. The exhibited illustrations will be followed by the documentary and narrative segment of the exhibition, where visitors will be able to see the reproductions of Kalef family member photographs from the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century preserved in the National Library of Serbia and in family ownership. These photographs are a valuable testimony to the visual culture of the Jewish community, which has significantly contributed to the development of fashion and textile crafts, trade and industry in Belgrade and Serbia.
In parallel with the preserved fashion illustrations from Die Modenwelt magazine and the Kalef family photographs, The Fashion World of the Kalef Family has mapped clothing patterns used by family members, as well as other members of the Jewish community and the bourgeoisie in their self-presentation, in line with current cultural models.
SELECTION OF WORKS
PHOTOGRAPHS FROM THE OPENING CEREMONY
Author of the photographs: Jovana Jarebica