Museum Milavida opens a fashion exhibition focusing on men
On February 27, the Museum Milavida in Tampere will open a new exhibition, Man – Lad, Dandy, Gentleman. The exhibition focuses on men's clothing and presents the building blocks of the modern man, which have been constructed and built up over time.
Men's fashion has been little researched
- Exhibitions focusing on men's clothing and fashion have been relatively rare in museums, says exhibition project manager Katri Pyysalo.
- Milavida is now responding to this gap and customer demand with its new exhibition.
At Milavida, men are dressed in uniforms appropriate to their status, boots with metal toe caps, tracksuits that emphasize freedom of movement, and bow ties and lunch suits that have disappeared from the modern man's wardrobe.
- The exhibition also features tailcoats from different periods, which clearly show the changes in fashion, says exhibition researcher Jaakko Mäkinen.
This most festive of men's attire also reveals to the uninitiated how many small details go into men's evening elegance and how strict the rules are.
The exhibition presents men through fashion and clothing. What and why men have worn throughout history and how this is reflected in the present day.
- The clothes on display span from the flamboyant fashion of the aristocracy in the 1750s to today's minimalist and more experimental style, says Mäkinen.
- Through the history of clothing and artifacts, the exhibition encourages visitors to think more broadly about masculinity, how it has been constructed and how it has changed over time. It also highlights how, for example, the design language of uniforms has influenced men's clothing.
Tailors play an important role in men's style
Tailoring and its history are a separate section of the exhibition.
- Tailoring has played a significant role in the development and construction of men's fashion, and it is also strongly linked to the history of uniforms, for example," says Mäkinen.
Classic men's clothing as such is rare on the streets, but many elements derived from it can be seen.
Clothes make the man, and even a guy can become a gentleman with the right outfit. And with a little extra attention, a gentleman can become a dandy.
The exhibition covers nearly 300 years of men's clothing. The exhibition, which is mainly composed of items from the collections of Tampere's historical museums, is complemented by items on loan from, among others, the Nordiska Museet in Stockholm and contemporary Finnish designers. Among the contemporary designers, talented and internationally recognized and well-known designers such as Lauri Järvinen, Ervin Latimer, and Teemu Muurimäki are featured on the catwalk. The latest in festive elegance is represented in the exhibition by the much-admired tailcoat designed by Teemu Muurimäki for Matti Myllyaho to wear at the President's Independence Day reception.
- The work of contemporary designers in the exhibition strongly reflects the heritage of classic men's clothing, which they have magnificently varied, modified, and questioned, summarizes Katri Pyysalo, project manager of the exhibition.
The Man – Lad, Dandy, Gentleman exhibition at Museum Milavida, February 27, 2026–March 21, 2027
