Alexandre Vassiliev Foundation

The Alexandre Vassiliev Foundation (Fondation Alexandre Vassiliev; Alexandre Vassiliev Fondas) is an international cultural organisation established in 2012 under Lithuanian law, with its registered office in Kaunas. It exists to manage, conserve and exhibit the private collection of Alexandre Vassiliev, a businessman, television presenter and fashion historian. Since its creation the collection has been regarded as one of the most important private holdings in the world devoted to the history of fashion, containing unique garments and objects that document dress and custom from the late seventeenth century to the present day. The collection itself was assembled over more than two decades. In 1999 Catherine Join-Diéterle, then director of the Palais Galliera in Paris, noted that Vassiliev had gathered some five hundred costumes, three thousand accessories and a substantial photographic archive, roughly a third of it devoted to Russia, his country of origin, with the remainder drawn from France, England, Spain, Turkey and South America. Vassiliev made his first purchase at the age of sixteen and later became a businessman and television personality in Russia, investing heavily in further acquisitions. He became known to specialists such as Françoise Auget in Paris and Kerry Taylor in London, and bought regularly at auctions held by houses including Charles A. Whitaker and Augusta Auctions in New York, where he acquired a large part of the former Brooklyn Museum Costume Collection. In late 2009 the Museum of Applied Arts and Design in Vilnius agreed to house the collection, offering extensive space in the heart of the Lithuanian capital; the former castle arsenal thus became the first fashion museum in Eastern Europe. The foundation was created in November 2012 to give a legal status to that first partnership. It is a non-profit public enterprise under Lithuanian law, founded by Alexandre Vassiliev and governed by a board. Its stated mission is the management and promotion of the collection, with a cultural objective summarised as 'education through the history of fashion', alongside support for research and the social sciences. In 2014 it established a documentation and expertise centre in Paris to train French and foreign students. The foundation works through partner museums and international loans. The Vilnius Museum of Applied Arts and Design is its first partner, under a contract between the foundation, the museum and the Lithuanian Ministry of Culture, and holds the majority of the collection; it presents two temporary exhibitions a year and a permanent fashion display. Further partnerships followed in Estonia with the Kumu art museum in 2014 and with Fall Castle in 2017, and in Latvia through private investment by the Muzychkina family that led to the creation of the Riga Fashion Museum. Less regular collaborations include the All-Russia Exhibition Centre in Moscow. Beyond its partner museums, the foundation has shown exhibitions at institutions such as the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts in Moscow, the Musée des Arts décoratifs, de la Faïence et de la Mode in Marseille and the Sakıp Sabancı Museum in Istanbul, and has contributed to fashion-history exhibitions including 'Verre et mode' at the Hakone Venetian Glass Museum in Japan in 2012, 'Friends and Fashion: An American Diplomat in 1820s Russia' at the Hillwood Museum in Washington in 2017 and 'Boldini e la moda' at the Palazzo dei Diamanti in Ferrara in 2019. The collection now comprises close to 500,000 items reflecting dress codes in France, Russia and the wider Western world. Its earliest pieces date to Greco-Roman antiquity — fibulae, cameos and similar objects — while the bulk covers the period from the eighteenth century to the present. Among its treasures are a rare dress signed Worth & Bobergh and a cape by the house of Brisac that belonged to the last Russian empress.

The Alexandre Vassiliev Foundation was created in November 2012 to give a legal status to the partnership between Alexandre Vassiliev and the Museum of Applied Arts and Design in Vilnius, which had agreed in late 2009 to house his collection. The foundation is a non-profit public enterprise under Lithuanian law, founded by Vassiliev and regulated by a board of directors. Its primary mission is the management and promotion of the Alexandre Vassiliev personal collection, with a cultural objective described as 'education through the history of fashion', and it also carries out support actions in the fields of research and social sciences. The collection it administers was assembled over more than twenty years. In 1999 Catherine Join-Diéterle, then director of the Palais Galliera, the fashion museum of the City of Paris, introduced a biography of Vassiliev by noting that his passion for fashion had led him to gather, in a little over twenty years, five hundred costumes, three thousand accessories and an important photographic archive, about a third of it devoted to Russia, his country of origin, with the rest divided between France, England, Spain, Turkey and South America. Vassiliev made his first purchase at the age of sixteen. He later became a businessman and television presenter in Russia and invested massively in new acquisitions, becoming known to specialists such as Françoise Auget in Paris and Kerry Taylor in London. He took part regularly in auctions at the main specialised houses, including Charles A. Whitaker Auction and Augusta Auctions in New York, where he bought a large part of the former Brooklyn Museum Costume Collection. In the 2000s he built one of the most important private collections in the world and announced his intention to find a home for it. In late 2009 the Museum of Applied Arts and Design in Vilnius responded favourably, offering extensive space in the heart of the Lithuanian capital to conserve and present the collection to the public. The former arsenal of the castle thus became the first fashion museum in Eastern Europe. The foundation was established in November 2012 to formalise this first partnership. In 2014 the foundation created a documentation and expertise centre in Paris to train French and foreign students. The success of the first permanent association led to further proposals, notably in Estonia with the Kumu art museum in 2014 and, in 2017, with Fall Castle, which became the foundation's first regular partner in that country. Latvia also showed interest in 2014, through private investment by the Muzychkina family that enabled the creation of the Riga Fashion Museum, a private museum. Located next to the tourist office in the largest city of the Baltic states and its leading tourist destination, the museum became one of the most visited places in the capital and an introduction to the other two museums. Less regular partnerships followed, notably with the All-Russia Exhibition Centre in Moscow. Beyond the exhibitions held in its partner museums, the foundation regularly presents its exhibitions in other international museums such as the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts in Moscow, the Musée des Arts décoratifs, de la Faïence et de la Mode in Marseille and the Sakıp Sabancı Museum in Istanbul. In addition to its own exhibitions, it contributes to exhibitions on the theme of fashion history, including 'Verre et mode', shown in summer 2012 at the Hakone Venetian Glass Museum in Japan; 'Friends and Fashion: An American Diplomat in 1820s Russia', shown from 18 February to 11 June 2017 at the Hillwood Museum in Washington; and 'Boldini e la moda', shown from 16 February to 30 June 2019 at the Palazzo dei Diamanti in Ferrara, Italy. The collection itself comprises close to 500,000 pieces reflecting dress codes in France, Russia and more broadly the Western world. The oldest elements date back to Greco-Roman antiquity (fibulae, cameos and similar objects) and cover in particular the period from the eighteenth century to the present. Among the priceless works are a rare dress signed Worth & Bobergh and a cape by the house of Brisac that belonged to the last Russian empress. The leadership committee, in place since 2012, comprises five people, including Alexandre Vassiliev as president, Christophe Dubois Rubio as vice-president and Alma Puodziukaitiene as director.

• 2019

  The foundation contributes to 'Boldini e la moda' at the Palazzo dei Diamanti in Ferrara, Italy, from 16 February to 30 June.

• 2017

  Fall Castle becomes the foundation's first regular partner in Estonia.

• 2017

  The foundation contributes to 'Friends and Fashion: An American Diplomat in 1820s Russia' at the Hillwood Museum, Washington, from 18 February to 11 June.

• 2014

  The foundation creates a documentation and expertise centre in Paris to train French and foreign students.

• 2014

  A partnership is established in Estonia with the Kumu art museum.

• 2014

  Private investment by the Muzychkina family enables the creation of the Riga Fashion Museum in Latvia.

• 2012

  The Alexandre Vassiliev Foundation is created in November under Lithuanian law to give legal status to the Vilnius partnership.

• 2012

  The foundation contributes to the exhibition 'Verre et mode' at the Hakone Venetian Glass Museum in Japan.

• 2009

  The Museum of Applied Arts and Design in Vilnius agrees to house the collection; the former castle arsenal becomes the first fashion museum in Eastern Europe.

• 1999

  Catherine Join-Diéterle, then director of the Palais Galliera, notes that Alexandre Vassiliev has assembled some 500 costumes, 3,000 accessories and a major photographic archive over more than twenty years.

Non-profit cultural foundation dedicated to preserving and exhibiting one of the world's largest private fashion-history collections, with the motto 'education through the history of fashion'.

• Alexandre Vassiliev Collection

  Nearly 500,000 pieces reflecting dress codes in France, Russia and the wider Western world, from Greco-Roman antiquity to the present, with particular strength in the eighteenth century onwards.

• Permanent fashion exhibition, Museum of Applied Arts and Design, Vilnius

  A permanent display of the collection, alongside two temporary exhibitions each year.

• Paris documentation and expertise centre

  Created in 2014 to train French and foreign students.

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