Anything but monotonous: the colour white plays a special role in fashion, which this exhibition explores in all its many facets. The colour of light, clouds and snow, white stands for joy, purity and innocence, for new beginnings, peace and silence, for emptiness and death. Hardly any other colour carries such a wealth of symbolic meaning, and that symbolism is also reflected in the way we dress. White is worn for religious celebrations such as baptisms, first communions and weddings, but it also appears at social occasions, in sport and in professional life. Yet the choice of colour is not always determined by symbolism alone. White fabrics possess extraordinary aesthetic qualities. The appeal of reducing colour, the play of the finest shades and nuances, of transparency and texture, has fascinated fashion designers and textile creators for generations. White linen is also closely tied to the history of hygiene and, as underwear, has played a significant role in fashion. Through more than one hundred objects — costumes, accessories and other textiles, photographs and advertisements — the exhibition “100 Shades of White” offers insights into the fashion and cultural history of a luminous colour that can also cast dark shadows. The exhibition also highlights the special importance of white textiles for Eastern Switzerland: it looks at the elaborately handcrafted white embroideries that remained an important source of income in Appenzell Innerrhoden well into the 20th century. It also takes visitors on a tour of the “white city” of St. Gallen, whose rise as a major textile centre was closely linked to this fashionable colour from the very beginning.
