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2 minutes to read Posted on Monday October 10, 2016

Updated on Monday November 6, 2023

Creative industries Challenge Fashion

Inspiration for the #EuropeanaChallenge: Swedish fashion from the 19th century

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Part of the blog series accompanying the #EuropeanaChallenge, aiming to stimulate your creativity and inspire ideas of digital products, services or businesses dedicated to the theme of fashion.

Are you searching for openly licensed content for your #EuropeanaChallenge application? Look no further: in this blog series, we will introduce you to fantastic fashion collections that will get you inspired!

Freja: illustrerad skandinavisk modetidning, 1886, Stiftelsen Nordiska museet. Public Domain Marked.

Long before models and celebrities walked runways in fashion weeks across the globe, the latest fashion news and trends had to travel via very different channels. In 19th century Sweden, ladies and gentleman of high classes would get style advice for social gatherings and different occasions – be it winter sports or a costume party – from fashion plates in magazines.

Provided by the Nordiska Museet, a public domain collection of over 1,000 fashion illustrations from 19th century Swedish journals showcases the fashionable looks and items of this period in Western European history. The Nordiska Musset’s collection is fascinating as, besides beautiful bonnets, corsets, petticoats and bustles, it tracks how fashion changed over a wide timeframe: from the 1810s to the 1890s.

A gathering for music and dance - see the tambourine and piano on the left.

Nyaste journal för damer, 1861, Stiftelsen Nordiska museet. Public Domain Market.

Fine ladies getting ready to go out in a matching ensemble.

Freja: illustrerad skandinavisk modetidning, 1884.Stiftelsen Nordiska museet. Public Domain Marked.

Seaside eleganza!

Freja: illustrerad skandinavisk modetidning, 1885. Stiftelsen Nordiska museet. Public Domain Marked.

You can find other interesting fashion illustrations available on a Europeana Fashion’s Pinterest board.

Stay tuned for next week’s post with brilliant content to inspire your creativity! If you have any questions or comments about the Europeana Challenge, contact us via Twitter or check out our FAQs.

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