Description
“In June 1994, on the occasion of the 5th anniversary of the opening of the Leventis Municipal Museum, we organised and presented a fashion show in the Museum yard to a select audience made up of donors and friends of the Museum. This fashion show was different, in as much as all exhibited dresses and fashion accessories were part of the Museum’s collections. During the evening of the show, the Firends of the Museum, who volunteered as mannequins, presented female costume dresses, accesories and ladies outfits dating from 187 8 to 1960. For two hours, the spectators followed with interest the evolution of Cypriot fashion during the British occupation of the island and admired the style, materials and the details which made Cypriot fashion of the period look so distinguished. Encouraged by the enormous success of this show, our Association decided to go ahead with another fashio show, which, this time, should be open to the public in general. In addition to this decision, the Association also adopted a suggestion that the forthcoming show should on this occasion include a complete presentation of the history of female fashion in Cyprus from antiquity to the present day . A new suggestion was then made by Dr. Vassos Karageorghis, who proposed the publication of a book with four chapters, all of them connected with female costume in ancient Cyprus, Mrs Ioanna Christoforaki’s study dealt with female dress in Medieval Cyprus, while Efrosini Rizopoulou-Egoumenidou covred the Cypriot female dress in modern times. Finally, Mrs Elena Strongyliotou concentrated on female costume in the 20th century. Following the writing of these four studies we proceeded with the publication of this book, which will form the basis and guide for the forthcoming fashion show. […]” – The Association of the Friends of the Leventis Municipal Museum of Nicosia – Abstract from the PREFACE
