Gewandhaus Museum Inneringen

Centuries worth of ornate, flashy clothes pack a picturesque 18th-century building. The collection is like a visual timeline that transports visitors through 500 years of fashion history.

Gewandhaus Museum Inneringen is a wonderfully different and unique museum. Over the years, Ilse Wolf and Katja Morrison, a mother-daughter team, have made exquisite period costumes for the Italy’s famous Carnival in Venice. The costumes the duo created are now on display in their hometown of Inneringen, in southern Germany. 

The museum aims to bring beauty and art closer to people. Its 11 rooms take visitors on a journey through different styles and eras within the fashion world. 

In addition to housing the elaborate, flashy fashion pieces, it’s also full of beautiful art. Morrison has painted stunning murals for each room that reflect the style of the era the garments represent. All the murals were painted on wallpaper in Morrison’s studio in New Zealand, where she now lives, and had to be shipped to Germany and applied to the walls of the museum like an enormous jigsaw puzzle.

The Gewandhaus Museum opened its doors in 2015 and has seen a steady flow of curious visitors. It’s located in an old-school house from the beginning of the 18th century. Its thick walls and stunning wooden floors have been beautifully restored and give the perfect historic backdrop for the opulent costumes.