RETRO 70s and 80s Exhibition: A Realistic Look Back – You’ll Think You Are There
Even from outside on the street, passersby can feel the vintage atmosphere. This is because the ground floor, glass façade along the street has been stylized to look like the windows of the period’s department stores. Upon entering the exhibition itself, visitors are welcomed by manikins that are contemporarily dressed as cashier ladies.
The exhibition extends over three different floors with the ground floor filled with the unmistakable look of the clothes and outfits of East Germany’s boy pioneer costumes, there are coin operated telephone booths from the same era and samples of the “then luxurious” cotton denim (blue jean) overalls. And this is just to warm you up. In the basement, you get a chance to see firsthand what was the then “socialist paradise”. Here a typical panel-type apartment building’s apartment has been recreated. You see and feel the living room, the kitchen with its period appliances, a bathroom and a holiday camping tent with all of the accoutrements, including a flashlight and unbreakable set of plastic dishes. Everything is so “perfect”. The dominant feature of the exhibition is a look at what was the then hugely popular TV series “Žena za pultem” [The woman behind the counter].
The first floor will be especially appreciated by the fans of the then popular music and television shows. The original costumes of pop icons such as Helena Vondráčková, Karel Gott and Dagmar Patrasová will leave you in no doubt that for fame and beauty, one simply had to suffer. This is proven by the absolute artificiality of everything and the materials of the exhibited clothing, which you can tell must have been unpleasant to wear, just by looking at it.
For those who would like to spend some additional time at the exhibition, there are film clips, videos, photos and posters from the Czech-Swiss photographer Irena Stehli.
One can read about the “RETRO 70s and 80s Exhibition” but one really needs to experience it first hand and in person.
