The Madrid's Costume and fashion Museum features accessible facilities for people with reduced mobility.

The recently inaugurated (opened its doors to the public in 2004) Museum of Costume/Fashion is a National Museum which is run by the Ministry of Culture. By getting in we are invited on a journey into the past and the present by means of objects and items of clothing of incalculable historical value, showing the development and social importance of various items of clothing throughout the centuries.

The spacious glass-and-concrete building housing the Museum was formerly home to the Spanish Museum of Contemporary Art on the Complutense University campus.

The exhibition is spread over two separate areas, which complement each other. The main area is dedicated to the historical development of Spanish fashion, placing it in an international context. This section is the real heart of the museum, and explanations are given by means of audiovisual technology: the oldest item on display is an 13th century woman's funeral robe. The tour continues through the voluminous female silhouettes of the 19th century on to the liberation of the female body which took place in the 20 the century, with the dresses of Paul Poiret and the Spanish designer Mariano Fortuny, who has an entire room dedicated to him, where the visitor can contemplate the Delphos, the dress which brought him world wide fame.

Spanish design is represented by designers such as Balenciaga, Pertegaz and Berhanyer while Paco Rabanne, Versace, Chanel and Courrèges are the representatives of the international fashion scene. In the style of a catwalk, the circuit ends with a display of work by current Spanish designers, such as Devota & Lomba, Jesús del Pozo and Pedro del Hierro.

The educational area of the museum aims to introduce the world of costume to all visitors by means of interactive displays and educational games which answer questions such as: Why do we get dressed? How are clothes made? What shapes do they take?

The Genio y figura exhibition, staged last summer in Japan 's Saitama Museum of Modern Art, demonstrates the powerful influences of Spanish culture on creations by well-known international fashion designers through a collection of 50 suits of clothing and 50 objects. It will be exhibited in Madrid at the Costume Museum, from October 2006 until January 2007. 

The Museum of Fashion consists too of departments dedicated to preservation, documentation, research, publicity and administration, and a range of services such as reservations, a cloakroom, audio guides, a bookshop/gift shop and a cafeteria/restaurant.

Conferences on the items on display, workshops, guided tours for groups, theatrical events for parents and their children, discussions with renowned fashion designers, and courses aimed at students of design, art, history of art and social anthropology are offered to visitors. Groups of no less than fifteen visitors connected with educational or cultural institutions should arrange their visit at least two weeks in advance (difusion@mt.mcu.es).

The access to the Museum from street level has no steps, including the pavements which feature curb cuts. Wheelchair users are recommended to access through the entrance located in Calle Paul Guinard as the ramped access in the main entrance might be too steep and too long. There's a bell at this side entrance and security personnel will open the door for you. Once in you can take the elevator to the 1st floor.

The ground floor is level and in addition to the temporary exhibition room there is a coffee shop/restaurant, a Museum shop and garden with no steps to negotiate. Access to the first floor, where the Permanent Exhibition rooms, the pedagogical workshops, the library and the auditorium are located, is provided by two elevators with sufficient space for three wheelchairs at the one time. The exhibition itself is conceived on one level only without any barriers and with a minimum clear width which allows wheelchair access at any point. Two adapted toilets are available at the Museum: one on the first floor and another one at the coffee-shop/restaurant.

Opening schedule.
Tuesday to Saturday: 9:30 - 19:00 h.
Sundays and Public Holidays: 10:00 - 15:00 h.
Closed on Mondays.

Admission fees:
Price: 3 €.
Reduced fee for groups, 1.50 €.
Free admission: Under 18, pensioners, unemployed and permanently disabled: free.
Free entrance on Saturday afternoons and Sundays.

Museo del Traje
Avenida de Juan de Herrera, 2.
Madrid (28040)
Tel: (+34) 91 550 47 00
e-mail: difusion@mt.mcu.es
http://museodeltraje.mcu.es

Rebecca Arce

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