Leiden council Alderman Ms Yvonne van Delft (left) and Dr Gillian Vogelsang (right) at the opening of the Velvet! exhibition, TRC, 22 January 2019.Gillian Vogelsang writes on Tuesday, 23 January: The new TRC exhibition VELVET! was opened yesterday in snow-covered Leiden by Alderman Yvonne van Delft, Leiden Council. Ms. Van Delft is responsible, among other things, for cultural affairs in Leiden.

Before the official opening we spent a while talking about the TRC, what we are doing and how, the collection and future possibilities, before carrying out the official moments.

These consisted of Prof. Bas ter Haar Romeny, chairman of the TRC Board, giving a short speech about the TRC, myself describing the exhibition and stressing the role of dress and textiles as a highly evolved language, with many dialects, but without words. And then Alderman Van Delft opened the exhibition. The emphasis in her talk was on diversity and how the TRC is drawing, not only a national public, but also an international audience of textile lovers to Leiden.

Everyone then had a chance to see the exhibition and participate in a small reception afterwards. There was a lively discussion concerning the role of velvet, what it actually consists of, and how it can inspire people to wear more luxurious items! The sensual nature of velvet was frequently commented upon!