At a time when fashion and self-presentation play a greater role than ever, antiquity offers new perspectives on how we see ourselves – and one another.
Power and Fashion in the Roman Empire is based on the Glyptotek’s many years of research into the colours, clothing, jewellery, perfumes and fashions of the ancient world. For the first time, this subject is being presented in both Denmark and internationally through an ambitious special exhibition spanning more than 1,000 square metres.
Fashion and identity are closely connected. Clothing can be read as a language that communicates identity – gender, age, ethnicity, social status, political affiliation and, at times, religious belonging. Whether we are conscious of it or not, we communicate aspects of our identity through what we wear, just as we interpret others through their appearance.
The same was true in the ancient world. Most ancient textiles have been lost, but marble and bronze sculptures depicting men and women in different forms of dress remain. What stories do these Roman testimonies reveal when viewed through a contemporary lens? And what can they tell us about identity in antiquity – and fashion today?
Antiquity remains relevant. Then as now, clothing, style and appearance were used to signal identity, status and power. These sculptures remind us that self-fashioning and self-presentation are far from modern phenomena.
Read more about the exhibition here. The exhibition is on view from 1 October 2026 to 27 March 2027.
